Thursday, April 19, 2018

Indian Exchange Takes Central Bank to Court Over Bank Ban

 


The Indian bitcoin community keeps fighting for their rights to operate freely in the country like any other industry. The latest show of defiance is a petition to the court against the actions of the Reserve Bank of India by the operators of a local exchange.

RBI Ban Unconstitutional
Indian Exchange Takes Central Bank to Court Over Bank BanKali Digital Eco-Systems, the company behind the upcoming cryptocurrency exchange Coin Recoil, has appealed to the High Court in Delhi against the recent crackdown on banks providing services to bitcoin related companies by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

According to the petitioner, the RBI directive is arbitrary and a violation of the Constitution of India and the court should therefore quash it. The document presented to the count, which news.bitcoin.com has obtained, explains that due to the RBI Circular the company will not be able to secure banking services that are imperative for the business' operations rendering it "stillborn." It argues that the ban is unconstitutional on two main grounds.

Freedom of Occupation
Indian Exchange Takes Central Bank to Court Over Bank BanArticle 19 of the Constitution of India guarantees citizens' rights to carry on any occupation, trade or business. But by preventing exchanges' access to baking services the government is in affect preventing people from engaging in the business of their choice.

Article 14 prohibits discrimination based on arbitrary and unreasonable classification. The petition explains that the RBI did not provide a clear definition of what constitutes 'virtual currency' and that this ambiguity dilutes any reasonability in what may be alleged as a classification. For instance, reward points such as airline miles may also be unreasonably construed as virtual currencies.

Two months ago the Supreme Court of Israel issued an injunction order forbidding one of the biggest banks in the country from halting the account activity of a local bitcoin exchange. This was a major victory for the Israeli cryptocurrency industry that set a precedent for other bitcoin businesses struggling to get banking services in the country. Hopefully the Indian high court will follow this example, even though there is a difference between the authority of a commercial bank and a central bank. Meanwhile, over 42,000 Indians have now signed an online petition that against the RBI directive.

Bitcoin Cash Gains Advance 4% Above BTC

 


On Wednesday, April 18, cryptocurrency markets have been bouncing all around over the past twelve hours as a few coins have seen some higher gains than most. Three-day charts show bitcoin core markets took a slight dip after touching a high of $8,425 USD on April 15, as spot prices are up 2 percent today and the fiat value per BTC currently rests between $7,900-8,100. Bitcoin cash markets are on a tear and have seen a significant upswing in market action during the day's trading sessions. The value of bitcoin cash is up 6.8 percent at a price of $825 per BCH.

Cryptocurrency Market Volumes Remain Healthy
Markets Update: Bitcoin Cash Gains Advance 4% Above BTC Digital currency markets are seeing some action today, after a majority of coins took a slight tumble yesterday during the early evening trading sessions (EDT). At the time of publication BTC's market value is hovering between $7,900-8,100 with a decent amount of trade volume over the past 24-hours. Daily global trade volume for BTC shows an accumulation of $7Bn worth of trades. The top five trading platforms swapping the most BTC volume today include Binance, Upbit, Bittrex, Okex, and Bitfinex. With over 1,500 digital currency markets in existence and an overall cryptocurrency market valuation of $335Bn bitcoin core dominance has slipped today down to 41 percent. The Japanese yen is again dominating the global trade volume on April 18 as the currency covers over 57 percent of the BTC trades. This metric is followed by the USD (18.8%), tether (USDT 13.8%), the South Korean won (3.3%), and the euro (3%).

BTC/USD Technical Indicators
Looking at the weekly, 30-minute and 4-hour BTC/USD charts show bulls are trying to press past resistance at the $8,100-8,400 territory which is quite thick. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) both long-term (200 SMA) and the short-term (100 SMA) have a decent gap between them with the 200 SMA above. This indicates the path to resistance will look to the downside as bulls are showing some exhaustion. However, the 4-hour chart shows the trend lines are looking to meet again in the short term. MACd is heading southbound while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is meandering between 50-60 showing some consolidation is taking place.

Markets Update: Bitcoin Cash Gains Advance 4% Above BTC
BTC/USD Bitstamp 4-18-18
Order books show on the upside bulls have to muster through some thick sell orders between $8,200 and $8,600 after that could be some smoother sailing. BTC/USD charts have shown a bullish reversal above the downward trend line and these attempts at resistance will likely take place today. If bears manage to claw prices down then there is some key support between $7,800-$7,700. If the Displaced Moving Average (DMA) breaks below these foundations, prices will likely find a way to the $7,500-7,250 territories.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD Could Test $700

 

Bitcoin Cash Price Support
There was a decent start of an upside wave from the $625 swing low in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The price traded above the $640 and $650 resistance levels to move back in a positive zone. More importantly, the price is now well above the $640 pivot level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. It recently traded as high as $676 before a minor downside correction.

Key Points
Bitcoin cash price is moving higher and is currently placed above $650 against the US Dollar.
Yesterday's highlighted connecting bullish trend line with support at $650 is intact on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair is showing bullish signs and it seems like it could break $680 to test the $700 handle.
Bitcoin cash price is gaining pace against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is likely to accelerate higher as long as it is above the $650 support level.

It tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $625 low to $676 high. However, the downside was limited and it seems like the price is about to resume its uptrend. A break above the $676 high could push the price towards the last swing high at $685. Above the mentioned $685 level, the price may even test the $700 resistance in the near term. On the other hand, if there is a downside correction, the $650 support may stop losses.

Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis BCH USD

Moreover, yesterday's highlighted connecting bullish trend line with support at $650 is intact on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. Therefore, the pair remains supported on the downside above the $650 level and it could continue to move higher towards $700.

Looking at the technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is moving nicely in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is currently near the overbought levels.

Major Support Level – $650
Major Resistance Level – $685

The Number of Cryptocurrency Exchanges Has Exploded

 


In bitcoin's earliest days, you could count the number of cryptocurrency exchanges on two hands: Mt Gox, Bitstamp, Btc-e, Vircurex and a handful of others, as well as P2P exchange Localbitcoins. Today, the landscape has changed dramatically. There are now over 500 exchanges to choose from – and that number is growing with every passing week.


There Are Now More Than 500 Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Calculating the number of crypto exchanges in the world is a lot harder than it sounds. Coinmarketcap lists 208, and there are dozens more listed on other cryptocurrency tracking sites. In addition, there are hundreds of regional exchanges that are only accessible within certain countries and continents. Canada has Einstein Exchange. Africa has Golix. Australia has ACX and will soon have Nauticus, a multi-asset exchange that is launching this year. Blockbid has also just gained its Australian license.

None of these platforms features on exchange listing sites such as Coinmarketcap. Neither do major sites such as Coinbase, because it is technically a broker (although its volume is listed on sites like Bitcoinity.org), or P2P sites like Localbitcoins and Localethereum. And what about other forms of P2P exchange such as Radar Relay, Kyber Network, and platforms that operate on the deep web? It is extremely difficult to classify and quantify the number of global crypto exchanges. All that can be said for certain is it's north of 500 and rising.

Choice Is Good – Up to a Point
Back when the bitcoin ecosystem was beholden to just one exchange – Mt Gox – there was a single point of failure that duly crashed the markets when Gox eventually broke. With hundreds of exchanges to choose from today, that shouldn't be an issue, and yet a glance at where the bulk of the trading volume lies tells a different story. In the last 24 hours, more than half of all cryptocurrency trading volume came from just three exchanges, with Binance accounting for 18% alone. If the exchange were to be hacked or go offline, it wouldn't cause a Mt Gox-level crash, but it would still inflict a sizeable dent.

24-hour trade volume by exchange
It is the meteoric rise of Binance, which has gone from nothing to billion-dollar platform in the space of 12 months, that has inspired many of the next generation of token-backed exchanges like Coinlion and Legolas. Each of these new entrants has a slightly different slant, whether it's knowledge-based trading, ICO launching or, in the case of Ezexchange, a focus on customer service that includes 24/7 support. It even offers the prospect of video tutorials and phone support for crypto investors who are still learning the ropes.

Oliver Isaacs is a cryptocurrency advisor and investor who's worked with a number of new exchanges. He ventures: "Customer service/tech support is important [with new exchanges] and so is the speed with which cryptocurrency deposit and withdraw transactions are executed. Getting your coin onto and off of an exchange quickly is important, especially for an arbitrage trader."

For so long as money keeps pouring into the crypto economy and the ICO sector remains vibrant, new exchanges will continue to proliferate. Should things go south, however, and a severe crypto winter set in, many exchanges could wind up as little more than ghost towns, with only the dominant players capable of maintaining liquidity and weathering the storm.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Bitcoin vs Oil and Gold: There Is a Difference

 

It's an easy comparison to make: Bitcoin mining versus gold and oil extraction. All – in the abstract sense for bitcoin – involve unearthing resources, all have had bumpy price histories, and all have been labeled as disruptive in their time.

Gold vs Oil vs Bitcoin
There are crucial differences between the three assets, especially when it comes to tracking what happens to supply after an increase in price. Twitter user @WallSt_Dropout produced a series of fascinating charts that help illustrate those differences perfectly.

First, oil. As the price of oil starts to climb, there's a marked response in oil production. Why? Because now there's extra incentive to invest in infrastructure/extraction capabilities.

As oil production begins to outstrip demand, there's a drop in the price of oil. It's now not as profitable to remove quite as much oil as before, so production eases off. As oil prices start to recover – thanks to restrictions in supply from the last cycle – the drillers turn their machines back on and produce more of the black stuff.

The same applies to gold. Beginning in 2008, monthly gold ore production is low, thanks to consistently low prices in the previous decade. As market forces begin to push the price of gold up – remember that financial crash? – production ramps up to keep track of prices. As gold prices take a dip in 2012, ore production levels off.

In bitcoin's case, the opposite is true. In 2010, when the block reward for production was higher, prices were low. As prices have climbed, the rewards for mining have dropped off. There isn't the same cyclical relationship between supply and demand found in oil and gold.

Bitcoin Is different
This is a key function of how bitcoin works. The bitcoin block mining reward halves every 210,000 blocks. At present the coin reward is 12.5 coins. According to Bitcoinblockhalf.com, by May 2020, the reward will drop to 6.25 coins.

How will miners make money after the block rewards end in 2140? Transaction fees. Gold miners don't control the buying and selling of the product, whereas bitcoin miners charge transaction fees for the confirmation work they complete. It would be the equivalent of an oil platform charging individuals a small fee for the oil they use in their cars.

It's a necessary part of the system. Think of it as miners creating a fixed amount of land every 10 minutes. People who want to make a transaction bid for a slice of that land. The sale of that tiny portion of land is what keeps miners mining.

As the Bitcoin inflation rate steadily trends downwards, the necessity of transaction fees to incentivize miners to keep mining will go up – in the far future.

Oil and gold are commodities that have no 'real' end date, i.e. there are still resources lying beneath the ground. Despite fears of peak oil and peak gold, companies keep finding more of the stuff as technology allows them to pinpoint their location and extract it with greater accuracy.

We already know how much bitcoin is left to be mined. Which makes bitcoin mining a very different proposition than mining other real world commodities.

India Searches for Ethereum Over Bitcoin

 



For nearly half a year, India's crypto enthusiasts have been searching for the cryptocurrency ethereum (ETH) over bitcoin (BTC). At the end of February, researchers confirmed ETH searches were twice as likely over BTC. Could the world's second most populated country be souring on the world's most popular cryptocurrency?

India Is Searching More for Ethereum, According to Researchers
According to Jana, a free internet provider in India, "Ethereum topped bitcoin as the most searched-for cryptocurrency in India over the past five months, commanding a 34.4% share of currency searches overall versus bitcoin's 29.9%," Quartz India reports. The results were published in Jana's Mobile Majority study, finding the "next most searched-for currency was Buyucoin (NEM) with a 21.2% share, and the rest captured 5% or less."

The CEO of Jana, Nathan Eagle, believes, "The government recommending shutting down exchanges and limiting currencies altogether, coupled with the decline in prices, has lead to the feverish pitch waning away dramatically. There are still quite a lot of searches but maybe we're getting closer to what a true steady state should look like." Part of the problem might be bitcoin's success, ironically. It tends to get the majority of attention when concerns about cryptocurrencies arise. In recent months, India's government and regulators have suggested everything from crypto not being legal tender to shutting exchanges.

Jana used its Mcent browser to find currency terms searched for and exchange visits over a five-month period, October of last year through February 2018. According to Quartz India, "Ethereum searches were double that of bitcoin during last week of February."

Thirty percent of all searches during that period happened at the height of bitcoin's run during December of last year. There seems to be an almost inverse relationship between searches for ethereum and bitcoin's price: the more of one necessarily means less of the other. Mr. Eagle explained how "search volume is a leading indicator of what has momentum and is showing signs of growth. It may not correspond to people buying more ethereum, but there's certainly a lot more interest," he told Quartz India.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Litecoin Foundation Apologizes for Not Doing Enough Due Diligence on Litepa

 


Failure of a project is a natural and common thing when investing in startup ventures, especially when it comes to cutting edge technologies such as cryptocurrency applications. Doing due diligence won't prevent failed investments made in good faith, but it can make sure to weed out projects that will raise obvious red flags if vetted thoroughly. In the case of Litepay, this has evidently not been done, and a lot of the community is now angry.

Oops
Litecoin Foundation Apologizes for Not Doing Enough Due Diligence on LitepayThe Litecoin Foundation has issued an announcement to the LTC community on Monday, informing them that Litepay has ceased all operations and that the CEO claims to be preparing to sell the company. This happened after the foundation questioned him about a lack of transparency and in return he asked for more funds to continue operations. The foundation refused any further funding as the CEO was "unable to provide a satisfactory picture of where the money had been spent and refused to go into exact details about the company and show objective evidence to back up his statements."

The organization took responsibility for the incident, stating: "We are greatly disheartened that this saga has ended in this way and we apologize for not doing enough due diligence that could have uncovered some of these issues earlier. We are currently working hard to tighten our due diligence practices and ensure that this does not happen again."

Litecoin creator Charlie Lee also twitted out a personal mea culpa on his part, saying: "Like everyone else, we got too excited about something that was too good to be true and we optimistically overlooked many of the warning signs. I am sorry for having hyped up this company and vow to do better due diligence in the future." Despite this honest message, a large part of the LTC community is apparently not quick to forgive him, with top ranked social media posts questioning Charlie's leadership and status in the wake of this debacle.

Crowd-Sourced Due Diligence
Litecoin Foundation Apologizes for Not Doing Enough Due Diligence on LitepayLitepay was supposed to be a LTC merchant payment processor and debit card that will greatly enhance the ease of spending for the cryptocurrency's holders. What triggered the foundation to question the project was a disastrous Reddit AMA (ask me anything) by the CEO Kenneth Asare.

Asare got grilled during the AMA session, as he tried to evade questions and wasn't able to provide satisfying answers to many concerns. He was accused of trying to run a one man show for a project that would require a whole team to complete. The project's website also didn't pass a simple inspection as many details were missing, raising allegations of being a scam. By doing this, the community was actually crowd-sourcing part the due diligence process of Litepay that needed to be done by the foundation beforehand.

Bitcoin Cash Price Dips Below $800 as all Markets Take Another Beating

 


Even though most cryptocurrency markets are still in the red as of right now, it will be interesting to see what the future holds in this regard. For the time being, Bitcoin Cash is taking a big beating, although it shouldn't necessarily suffer from bigger losses compared to all other markets. Even so, the Bitcoin Cash price has dropped below $800 again, which will make some investors rather twitchy.

It is always difficult to make sense of the cryptocurrency markets. More specifically, the overall downtrend has been rather evident for quite some time now, and it seems there is no real improvement in sight for the foreseeable future. As such, it is only normal the Bitcoin Cash price will continue to decline, along with all other cryptocurrencies. For some reason, the Bitcoin Cash price is declining a lot quicker than Bitcoin or Ethereum.

More specifically, the Bitcoin Cash price has dropped by as much as 11.4% in the past 24 hours. While such volatility is not uncommon in the world of cryptocurrency, it goes to show there is still some concern over the future price stability of this currency. While this dip can turn into a small gain in a matter of a few hours, it is quite steep regardless. This decline also pushed the Bitcoin Cash price below $800 once again, which is not something investors will appreciate.

It is also worrisome to see how Bitcoin Cash continues to lose ground compared to Bitcoin. Although this trend has been visible for some time as well, the current dip is another 6.65% decline in favor of Bitcoin. While most BCH holders may not be too alarmed by that particular development, it was not that long ago when one BCH was valued at 0.22 BTC. Right now, that same BCH is worth 0.104 BTC, even though the Bitcoin price has fallen dramatically.

While Bitcoin Cash still has a solid trading volume of just under $350m, it is far less than what most people would like to see at this point. Unfortunately, the overall cryptocurrency trading volume is still pretty abysmal right now, thus it is only normal individual currencies will struggle a bit in this regard. For Bitcoin Cash, the volume seems to remain consistent around the $350m mark, which is rather positive, all things considered.

The majority of this Bitcoin Cash trading volume originates from the OKEx trading platform, which is no real surprise. Even so, their lead over Huobi and HitBTC is pretty small. OKEx is also in fourth position ranked by volume, followed by Lbank. A very interesting mix of exchanges and trading markets, even though there is no real fiat currency pair in the top five. We do see two USDT markets, though, which is not all that bad either.

Whether or not the Bitcoin Cash price will return to $800 in the near future, is anybody's guess as of right now. It is certainly possible we will see a temporary trend reversal right before or during the weekend, but sustaining any positive momentum is all but impossible for cryptocurrencies right now. For now, the Bitcoin Cash price will remain bearish, but this industry remains incredibly unpredictable.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Bitcoin Cash Ecosystem Sees a Tidal Wave of Merchant Acceptance

 


Just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on Bitpay launching bitcoin cash (BCH) integration for the firm's loadable Visa debit cards. Since then the company has implemented BCH invoice support for all of the firm's vendors, and now bitcoin cash can be spent with thousands of merchants worldwide.

Thousands of Merchants and Nonprofits Now Accept Bitcoin Cash
Merchant adoption has been increasing lately for the BCH ecosystem, but in one day that metric spiked considerably. Bitpay has fully integrated bitcoin cash payments for all of its vendors and merchants that utilize the company's payment processing services. Since the 'cryptocurrency fever' swept the globe in 2017, Bitpay's merchant list has grown considerably last year. This includes significant merchant growth in the U.S., South America, Asia, and Europe.

Bitcoin cash can be used with well-known merchants like Microsoft.
Bitcoin cash supporters have been extremely pleased to see some of their favorite merchants accepting BCH as a form of payment and network fees are considerably less. The list of Bitpay vendors who now accept BCH, includes Newegg, Apmex, Vultr, Namecheap, eGifter, Gyft, Zeek, Wefunder, Heifer International, Vodi, JM Bullion, and many more. This also includes a wide variety of nonprofits and charities like Save the Children, the Internet Archive, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Wikipedia.

Bitcoin cash can be used to donate to hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
BIP 70 Wallet Support for Bitcoin Cash and BCH Being Used for South Korean Cross-Border Payments
In addition to the full range of merchants and non-profits now available to the BCH ecosystem. Bitcoin cash payments are also now compatible with the Payment-Protocol (BIP70) used in Bitpay invoices. Further, there are currently more supporting wallets utilizing this feature, and the Electron Cash client was added yesterday. Wallets that are compatible with the BCH Payment-Protocol include BRD Wallet, Bitcoin Core, Edge (formally Airbitz), Electrum, Mycelium, Copay, Bitpay, and the Bitcoin.com Wallet. Bitcoin cash users who have these types of wallets can utilize any Bitpay merchant.

The BCH wallet Electron Cash can now be used with the Payment-Protocol for those who wish to pay Bitpay merchant invoices.
Another announcement from Bitpay that will also please BCH proponents is the company's recent partnership with the South Korean exchange Bithumb. The two companies are launching a cross-border payment solution which will utilize BTC and BCH to help cheapen the costs of international payments for South Korean businesses. Bitpay executive Sonny Singh says that South Korean companies are sometimes paying or receiving $100,000 – $5 million USD per invoice. "A 1 -2% savings on each invoice can lead to dramatic cost savings," explains Singh.

Overall the announcement of Bitpay integrating bitcoin cash has pleased BCH proponents quite a bit as the number of merchants added to the ecosystem, and the new South Korean cross-border payment platform will increase BCH usage greatly. In addition to Bitpay, since the San Francisco company Coinbase integrated bitcoin cash support, BCH payments can be used with its new merchant plugin.

Twitter and Square CEO Bullish on Bitcoin

 



Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Twitter and payment platform, Square, told the Times of London there will be a single world currency in the next ten years, and he believes that will be bitcoin. His comments came at a downturn in the broader crypto markets and amidst declarations of bitcoin's imminent demise.   

Twitter and Square CEO Bullish on Bitcoin
"It's slow and it's costly," Mr. Dorsey spoke of bitcoin as a currency, "but as more and more people have it, those things go away. There are newer technologies that build off of blockchain and make it more approachable," the Times of London reports (paywall). He is in London this week to promote one of his companies, Square.

Mr. Dorsey, 41, is a billionaire at least four times over, and is considered something of a sage in the technology space. He was instrumental in establishing the micro-blogging platform Twitter. The San Francisco-based social networking staple has proven itself over its decade of existence to be a galvanizing space, especially for the cryptosphere, with over 300 million users.

Twitter and Square CEO: Bitcoin to be World's CurrencyThough the world's most popular cryptocurrency "does not have the capabilities right now to become an effective currency," Mr. Dorsey explained the "world ultimately will have a single currency, the internet will have a single currency. I personally believe that it will be bitcoin," expecting this to take place "probably over ten years, but it could go faster."

He's also CEO of Square, Inc., San Francisco-based as well, a point of sale payments platform allowing for person-to-person commerce serving the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The popular smartphone client announced last month it would launch an in-app bitcoin buy and sell option. "We support bitcoin because we see it as a long-term path towards greater financial access for all — This is a small step," Mr. Dorsey detailed. The move has proved compelling to merchants, as even amidst price volatility 60% said they'd accept Square. Square is also reportedly launching an instant deposit service. After about 20 minutes, merchants can access funds in their accounts, making cashflow much easier for smaller businesses.

Twitter and Square CEO: Bitcoin to be World's Currency

Mr. Dorsey isn't a passive bitcoin investor. He participated in a seed financing round of 2.5 million USD for Lightning Labs, hoping to help power bitcoin core beyond its recent headaches of congestion and fees. In the hodl versus currency bitcoin debate, Mr. Dorsey seems to reside right in the middle.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Massive Drop After Google Announces It Will Ban Crypto Ads

 


Bitcoin is struggling. Following yesterday's unimpressive but steady balance at $9,130, bitcoin has fallen by nearly $1,000 and is now trading for less than $8,300.

The news likely stems from an announcement by Google, as the popular Internet search engine has sworn to ban cryptocurrency and ICO-related ads in the coming months and to crack down on digital currency scams.

Similar sentiment was witnessed amongst Facebook executives earlier this year. The social media platform made a similar decision to ban cryptocurrency advertisements, which sent the price of bitcoin spiraling downward by approximately ten percent. While the fall is not as large this time around, bitcoin's price has sunk nearly eight percent, which puts the damage on a similar scale.


Google and Facebook are arguably two of the most powerful Internet companies in modern times, and if they say bitcoin and digital currencies aren't all they're cracked up to be, people are likely to listen, although CEO of Coinbase's UK branch Zeeshan Feroz feels differently. He says Google's crackdown will not "dampen" consumer demand anytime soon, but he did criticize the ban for being "too widespread."

Google has divisions all over the globe, which means bitcoin and altcoin coverage is going to be cut significantly, and it may take time for a respective bull run to occur again.

The ban will not take place until mid-June, which leaves many speculating as to why bitcoin would experience such a drastic fall at press time. The answer may be simple: that not all the kinks surrounding bitcoin have been worked out yet. Despite ten years of availability, bitcoin is still a fluctuating, changing, and ultimately "birthing" market, thus leaving it vulnerable to several factors. Announcements like these can have drastic effects on the price, and it is possible users may see another fall in June when Google fully implements the ban.

Managing Partner and CEO of $APEX Token Fund Chris Keshian is asking Google to "keep an open mind," and to not "tar all cryptocurrencies with the same brush." For the most part, he sees the move as somewhat progressive, as the ban is simply a "pause" in bitcoin's present run. He feels the move is likely to give bitcoin more time to mature and adapt to newer regulations, as they will undoubtedly come along.

One source suggests bitcoin could stay "in the red" until late September this year, when Mt. Gox – the infamous exchange that lost nearly half-a-billion in bitcoins in February 2014 – is slated to sell off its remaining crypto stash.

The company still holds approximately $1.5 billion USD in cryptocurrency assets, and the sell-off may happen once it obtains final permission from a Japanese court. The initial hearing will take place on September 18, suggesting that bitcoin may be "food for the bears" over the next six months. While some are still suggesting leaps can occur in the bitcoin price arena, we cannot ignore the fact that Mt. Gox was, is, and probably always will be a major influence on the father of all digital currencies.

Big Sister Watching: IMF’s Lagarde Warns of Crypto’s Dark Side

 


International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde released a blog post Tuesday, March 13, Addressing the Dark Side of the Crypto World. In it, she argues increasing fascination with cryptocurrencies has brought along grave costs: money laundering, terrorism, and economic instability.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Warns of Crypto
Addressing the Dark Side of the Crypto World contains Ms. Lagarde's most pointed remarks on cryptocurrencies since her first toe-dip back in Fall of last year. Since then, however, her opinion seems to be devolving, and her current blog post doesn't mince words. "The same reason crypto-assets like Bitcoin are so appealing," Ms. Lagarde wrote, "is also what makes them dangerous."

Her missive comes in at least five languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. Clearly, the IMF wants this read widely. The IMF formed in the aftermath of World War II, based largely on the ideas of English economist John Maynard Keynes. In its modern context, the IMF is employed during financial crises to manage balance of payments through an established pool of funds known as special drawing rights (SDRs), which currently total a little over half a trillion dollars.

Recalling her earlier optimism, Ms. Lagarde continued, "The technology behind these assets—including blockchain—is an exciting advancement that could help revolutionize fields beyond finance. It could, for example, power financial inclusion by providing new, low-cost payment methods to those who lack bank accounts and in the process empower millions in low-income countries."

However, when it comes to central bank digital currency proposals, her tone turns ominous and curious. "The possible benefits have even led some central banks to consider the idea of issuing central bank digital currencies," Ms. Lagarde teases. It's curious because the issue of central banks and crypto isn't prefaced; it just suddenly appears as the post's focus. It could very well be the IMF is attempting to buttress, backup, a recent 34-page Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warning about the issue. And timing could not be better, considering the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Argentina right around the corner.

Fire and Brimstone
Both BIS and IMF betray understanding of basic cryptocurrency literacy. A cryptocurrency isn't just a digital form of payment encrypted. To cause the sort of mischief it's accused, a crypto must for sure use encryption, a necessary but not sufficient condition, and at least have something akin to a decentralized, distributed ledger of accounting. Central banks are, well, centralized and thus defy the basic definition. Still, where there is a fuss to be made, government agencies are hardly afraid to make it.

"Before we get [to central bank-backed crypto], however, we should take a step back and understand the peril that comes along with the promise," Ms. Lagarde begins. And there can be pitfalls in using crypto, as many enthusiasts are aware, especially as infrastructure is built and the ecosystem grows. However, the IMF Managing Director insists typical cryptos are decentralized "without the need for a central bank," giving "crypto-asset transactions an element of anonymity, much like cash transactions. The result is a potentially major new vehicle for money laundering and the financing of terrorism," citing Alphabay as a prime case in point.

Big Sister Watching: Lagarde Warns of Crypto's Dark SideIf financing terror isn't enough to convince readers of the need for IMF intervention, "Financial stability is another. The rapid growth of crypto-assets, the extreme volatility in their traded prices, and their ill-defined connections to the traditional financial world could easily create new vulnerabilities," she thunders. She goes on to unironically bluster about "working on these issues" for two decades. For some mysterious reason, the events of 2008 aren't mentioned, where literally the entire world economy melted even with a very well funded and established gaggle of IMFs and central bank type arrangements. The single largest economic collapse in modern history does not warrant so much as a line from Ms. Lagarde, and it's no wonder the entire crypto notion born from it mere months later isn't retold. Crypto falls from the sky, evidently.   

Her rhetoric morphs into the plain shrill toward the end. Laughable lines such as protecting "consumers in the crypto world just as we have for the traditional financial sector" are surpassed by "the same innovations that power crypto-assets can also help us regulate them," an idea she glibly asserts they "can fight fire with fire." She believes, correctly, distributed ledger technology can be utilized, with a few tricks, to track users, a fact that undermines her earlier claim of crypto's dangerous anonymity.

"Better use of data by governments can also help free up resources for priority needs and reduce tax evasion, including evasion related to cross-border transactions. Biometrics, artificial intelligence, and cryptography can enhance digital security and identify suspicious transactions in close to real time. This would give law enforcement a leg up in acting fast to stop illegal transactions. This is one way to help us remove the 'pollution' from the crypto-assets ecosystem," the Managing Director urged.