Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reappointed Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister. She remains instrumental in shaping India’s economic policies, including cryptocurrency regulation and taxation. Nirmala Sitharaman Reappointed as Finance Minister Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reappointed Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister, extending her tenure that began in 2019. Sitharaman, who delivered her sixth […]
Bitcoin News
Record High Credit Card Debt: 55% of Americans Concerned About Repayment as Inflation Pushes Consumers to Credit Reliance
According to a Newsweek poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, 55% of Americans are “very” or “fairly” concerned about paying off credit debt this year. The total credit card balance of Americans is at its highest point since the U.S. Federal Reserve began tracking the data, and current metrics indicate that Americans are using credit to mitigate inflationary pressures.
U.S. Consumers Rely on Credit Cards to ‘Navigate Costs Associated With Inflation’
While the most recent consumer price index (CPI) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a cooling of inflation in the United States, Americans have turned to credit cards to offset the rising prices. According to a poll published by Newsweek and Redfield & Wilton Strategies, which surveyed 1,500 American citizens on May 31, approximately 30% of respondents have debt ranging from ,000 to ,000. Among Americans aged 22-34, around 22% have accumulated over ,000 in debt, while 21% of U.S. citizens aged 35-44 also carry the same level of debt.
Melissa Lambarena, a credit cards expert at Nerdwallet, stated to Newsweek that U.S. “consumers have been actively using their credit cards to navigate costs associated with inflation.” The Nerdwallet executive noted that increasing prices have caused some Americans to depend on their credit cards to meet their financial needs. According to statistics from Lendingtree, credit card debt has reached a record high for American consumers, citing consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“Americans’ total credit card balance is 6 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,” a Lendingtree report details. “That’s unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2022’s record number, leaving the balance the highest since the New York Fed began tracking in 1999.”
American Credit Card Debt Has Risen Significantly Since Q3 2020, Credit Debt Has Surged on a Global Scale
The all-time high represents a 17% increase compared to the year prior, indicating that millions of Americans are relying on credit more than ever before to cover their expenses. Credit card debt had been steadily rising until the pandemic hit, and in 2020, it significantly declined as Americans reduced their usage of these financial tools. According to Newsweek’s survey, 55% of U.S. residents express significant or moderate concerns about their ability to repay credit card debt this year. The statistics also reveal that this trend is particularly pronounced among younger age groups, specifically those aged 18-24.
Moreover, Americans are not the only ones relying on credit card charges to make ends meet, as multiple sources indicate a global surge in credit card debt. Data reveals that the United States currently holds the highest amount of credit card debt, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Conversely, Italy, Brazil, and India have comparatively lower average credit card debt. According to the Newsweek poll, certain experts suggest the necessity of “debt forgiveness” or propose that American consumers could potentially “benefit from payment holidays.’”
What are your thoughts on the rising credit card debt in the face of inflation? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
To Ban Or Not To Ban? Russia Concerned About Growing Crypto Transanctions
The Russian central bank wants to ban investments in cryptocurrencies in Russia, citing the growing number of crypto transactions as a threat to financial stability.
Russia Mulls Over Crypto Ban
Russia’s central bank is attempting to outlaw cryptocurrency investments, escalating the country’s long-standing distrust of Bitcoin and other digital assets. Future transactions would be prohibited, but present holders would not be forced to sell their holdings.
Cryptocurrencies, according to Russian authorities, can be used for money laundering and terrorism financing. According to Reuters, the bank’s current stance on cryptocurrency is a “complete rejection.”
Although it is still illegal in Russia to undertake cryptocurrency transactions, a new amendment has made it permissible to invest in and buy cryptocurrencies through exchanges.
Any such limitations might stifle Russia’s current retail investment boom, which has seen 15 million Russians create brokerage accounts in the last few years, according to Central Bank estimates.
The regulator has already acted quickly to restrict access to other types of risky investment products, anticipating that Russia’s low financial literacy and strong broker marketing might lead to consumers being lured into high-risk investments. If they want to invest in items like options and derivatives, retail investors must must complete a series of examinations.
Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Central Bank of Russia, increased the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) around the country’s current state of crypto regulation in a Friday press conference. When asked about the rise of digital assets, Nabiullina said the following, according to finmarket.ru, a local news outlet:
“You know that our attitude towards cryptocurrencies is of, to put it mildly, skepticism. Related to this are the significant risks for retail investors and the substantial volatility for this type of asset. In addition, cryptocurrencies are opaque in that they are frequently used for illegal operations or criminal nature. Therefore, we cannot welcome investments in them. We seek to prevent the Russian financial infrastructure from using crypto transactions. This is quite doable.”
Related article | Russia Plans To Impound Unlawfully Acquired Cryptocurrencies
Illegal Miners To Be Jailed
Andrey Lugovoy, a member of parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, has threatened miners with jail if they connect their equipment to the power grid without permission.
Lugovoy disclosed in November that his nationalist party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, is preparing to introduce a draft law to govern crypto mining. According to the congressman, the approval of the legislation will help Russian nationals, the state, and entrepreneurs who wish to legitimately engage in business.
He has now added, in an interview with the Russian online news outlet Lenta.ru, that mining regulation makes sense. Aside from charging mining businesses varying power prices, the deputy believes their profits should be taxed after deducting the cost of the energy consumed and other expenses such as labor. Lugovoy accused miners of avoiding paying taxes by using subsidized, low-cost electricity.
BTC crashes to k | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Related article | Held Accountable: Russia Wants Bitcoin Investors Jailed For Non-Compliance
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
NewsBTC
The KuCoin Hacker is About to Sell Stolen Chainlink; Why Analysts Aren’t Concerned
KuCoin, a somewhat popular cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Singapore, experienced a major security breach last week that led to the loss of over 0 million worth of crypto tokens, including Bitcoin, Chainlink, Ethereum, and a plethora of altcoins.
Although this has yet to have any grave impacts on the crypto market, the selling patterns from the hacker – or group of hackers – has placed pressure on multiple smaller altcoins.
It now appears that they are looking to offload the Chainlink tokens that they stole from the platform, which could mean that it is about to witness some notable inflows of selling pressure.
It is important to note that in total, the hacker was only able to steal roughly million worth of the token. Based on its current liquidity, analysts don’t think that this should have any major implications on LINK’s price action.
That being said, it may slow the rate at which it can ascend throughout the coming couple of days.
KuCoin Hacker Begins Transferring Stolen Chainlink
Due to the public nature of the hacker’s Ethereum wallet address, analysts can closely monitor all of the hacker’s transactional activity.
After selling off a significant amount of their smaller altcoin reserves, it now appears that they are moving to sell their Chainlink.
In total, they stole roughly million worth of the cryptocurrency.
While speaking about this, one analyst pointed to the small LINK transactions as a sign that this will be the next token they dump.
“Hacker going for LINK next by the looks of it. Only got ~m of it. This guy is the most meticulous dumper I’ve ever seen. Test transactions, TWAPing, etc. 36hrs, 15m of 150m liquidated,” he explained.
Here’s What the m Sell-Side Pressure Could Do to LINK
Chainlink is now one of the largest and most liquid altcoins available to investors. As such, million in selling pressure shouldn’t have too much of an impact on its price action, besides possibly sparking a short-term downtrend.
The aforementioned analyst also spoke about this, noting that any downwards price movements that LINK sees in the near-term are more than likely just related to general market movements.
“KuCoin hacker is liquidating his LINK. Nothing to be concerned about given links liquidity. Any price movements are most likely more in tandem with the general market and little to do with this.”
A sudden influx of sell orders may create some short-term pressure that pushes Chainlink lower, but it shouldn’t alter its mid-term trend.
Featured image from Unsplash. Pricing data from TradingView.
Ethereum Sees “Underlying Issues” Arise as Analysts Grow Concerned
Ethereum has been able to climb all the back up to its local highs of 0 as its upwards momentum continues to build. This movement has come about after Bitcoin was able to gain a solid foothold above ,500.
Today’s upswing has marked an extension of the rally that Ethereum has been caught within in the time following its decline to the sub-0 region in mid-March.
Analysts are growing concerned about the strength of its recent uptrend, however, as it has failed to retest its previous resistance levels as support – meaning that it may be positioned to revisit these levels in the near-term.
Ethereum Reaches Local Highs as It Approaches a Major Supply Zone
At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading up just under 1% at its current price of 9.40, marking a notable climb from its daily lows of 4 that were set during a fleeting dip late yesterday.
The cryptocurrency is now engaged in a bout of consolidation just below its current resistance at 0. This level happens to be where it rallied to last Saturday before facing a firm rejection here.
One popular pseudonymous Ethereum-focused analyst on Twitter recently offered a chart showing that the crypto’s major supply zone exists just below 0 – meaning that this could be the level it rallies to before facing a potentially grueling selloff.
“Tiredness developing on ETH approaching the major supply. Timing will be important but the underlying issue is beginning to show itself,” he explained, pointing to the chart seen below.
Image Courtesy of Cold Blooded Shiller
If Ethereum is unable to garner enough buying pressure to surmount this level, it could be a dire sign that uncovers some underlying weakness amongst its buyers.
ETH’s Failure to Confirm Previous Resistance Levels as Support is a Grim Sign
In addition to facing a heavy overhead supply zone that could hamper its price action, the cryptocurrency has also failed to confirm its previous resistance levels as support throughout the course of its recent uptrend.
This has led another popular crypto trader to note that it does seem likely that its previously intense resistance levels will be retested in the near-term.
“Incredibly strong recovery here, nearly 30% from the local bottom. – However, genuinely concerned about those resistance levels that were never tested as support – rules are rules, gaps eventually always get closed,” he said.
Image Courtesy of Teddy
Unless Bitcoin continues pushing higher and allows Ethereum to shatter its overhead supply zone, it is possible that this will be enough to spark the decline that lead ETH to retest these previous resistance levels in the days and weeks ahead.
Featured image from Unsplash.
NewsBTC
Key Bitcoin Sell Signal Flashes: Here’s Why Analysts Aren’t Concerned
Since hitting ,800 over a week ago, Bitcoin (BTC) has exploded higher, registering massive gains against the U.S. dollar as bulls have made their presence known in this new year. At the recent rally’s peak, the price of the leading cryptocurrency was ,450, up some 25% from the bottom.
Related Reading: Crypto Tidbits: Elon Musk Pokes Bitcoin Bear, Japanese Giants Delve Into Cryptocurrency Mining, Baidu’s Blockchain Beta
Despite this strong surge, a key indicator, the Tom DeMark Sequential (better known as the TD Sequential), recently printed a bearish signal. According to a Telegram alerts channel tracking the time-based indicator, which predicted Bitcoin’s bottom at ,200 in 2018 and the top at ,000, the BTC/USD chart just printed a “Sell Quasi 9” on the daily.
Although “Sell 9” candles are often lead to strong reversals, for they show that a trend has exhausted, analysts aren’t too concerned, for there is a flurry of other technical signals suggesting that bulls are decisively in control.
Related Reading: Ethereum’s Price Chart Just Printed This Extremely Bullish Signal
Bitcoin Bulls Decisively In Control
There are a number of signals suggesting Bitcoin is poised to head higher, no matter what the TD Sequential suggests.
Per previous reports from NewsBTC, a trader going by Storm remarked that according to a key trend indicator on the four-hour BTC chart, bulls remain in control, adding that he thinks it’s thus worth buying the cryptocurrency between ,700 to ,900.
The indicator he mentioned is relevant as it flipped green in the middle of February and didn’t flip over to a bearish reading until September or so, giving those tracking it a chance to bag 300% profits on a Bitcoin trade.
Not to mention, the Lucid Stop and Reversal system recently printed a buy signal on the weekly candle for Bitcoin, which was a signal last seen in March of 2019, and has outperformed BTC by over 1,000% since August 2018, per trader Financial Survivalism.
Historical chart analysis agrees with the positive fundamentals. As noted by analyst Nunya Bizniz, in previous cycles the four months out from Bitcoin’s halvings have always been extremely bullish for the price of BTC.
This simple historical analysis, which is backed up by the fact that investors attempt to “front-run” the halving by buying Bitcoin beforehand, suggests that the crypto market may soon explode higher ahead of the halving, potentially entering into a parabolic uptrend.
Bitcoin is about 120 days away from the halving.
What was price action like 120 days prior to the first two halvings?
Whether you believe its priced in or not, if past is prologue – volatility may be expected. pic.twitter.com/7peG6Ir0m4
— Nunya Bizniz (@Pladizow) January 10, 2020
So even if there is understandably some bearish retracement from current prices levels, analysts are still bullish on Bitcoin from a more medium-term perspective.
Related Reading: This Late Night Host Just Exposed Millions to Bitcoin, Again
Featured Image from Shutterstock The post appeared first on NewsBTC.
NewsBTC
VC Investor: 3 Reasons to Not be Concerned With Ethereum Scaling
Ethereum has come under fire this year over scaling issues and longevity of the project. There will always be the detractors which support rival crypto platforms and the phalanxes of Bitcoin maximalists believing that BTC is the only fruit. One prominent VC investor sees no reasons to be concerned with ETH scaling issues.
Ethereum Scaling Not a Problem
There is a lot of work going on under the hood on the Ethereum network at the moment. The project has more developers than any other competing platform yet serial detractors continue to bash it. VC investors and former project manager at Coinbase, Linda Xie, is not worried as she recently explained.
People often say they're concerned about Ethereum scaling. My thoughts: 1) Eth 2.0 progress is coming along nicely 2) Great teams working on other promising solutions e.g. Optimistic & ZK Rollups 3) Certain use cases can take off that don’t require significant scaling e.g. DeFi
— Linda Xie (@ljxie) November 26, 2019
The first reason is that all scaling issues are likely to be solved with ETH 2.0. The development work on Serenity is progressing as planned Xie pointed out. The first step to the next iteration of the network will be Phase 0, Beacon Chain implementation.
Version 0.9.2 of the Phase 0 spec was released a few days ago with further tweaks to the system. Testnets such as the one from Prysmatic Labs continue to put Beacon Chain through its paces to ensure a smooth rollout to mainnet later next year. Istanbul must come first though and that hard fork has been scheduled for December 8 or thereabouts.
Phase 1 will be sharding implementation which will follow once Phase 0 has been successfully deployed. This will split the data processing responsibility of the blockchain among many nodes, allowing parallel transaction, storing, and processing of information which eases the load on the Ethereum mainchain and permits scaling.
Phase 2 which is even further down the roadmap includes the introduction of a new Virtual Machine – Ethereum-flavored Web Assembly (eWASM). This would allow web standard (W3C) smart contracts written in any language to be executed on Ethereum.
Xie added that there are great teams working on other promising solutions such as Optimistic and ZK Rollups. Optimistic is a promising technology for scaling general-purpose smart contracts on Ethereum in the near term while ZK Rollup is a more sophisticated technology which can be used for token transfers and specialized applications today.
Thirdly the Scalar Capital co-founder added;
“Certain use cases can take off that don’t require significant scaling e.g. DeFi”
DeFi has been touted as the future of decentralized finance and a system that is long overdue in a world where banks are drowning in their own debts. Even with the Ethereum price dump, DeFi markets continue to grow.
.@InstaDApp is having a good week! Over 63K ETH locked (+28%) today alone pic.twitter.com/FdHdDVYKee
— DeFi Pulse
(@defipulse) November 26, 2019
With all of Ethereum’s scaling solutions and a healthy decentralized finance market there really is nothing to be concerned about. Price on the other hand is a little hard to swallow at the moment, but with ETH wallowing around the 0 level and a bright future ahead, it can only go one way in the long term.
Image from Shutterstock
The post VC Investor: 3 Reasons to Not be Concerned With Ethereum Scaling appeared first on NewsBTC.
IRS Official Says Agency is Concerned about Tax Issues Related to Crypto ATMS, Kiosks
The post IRS Official Says Agency is Concerned about Tax Issues Related to Crypto ATMS, Kiosks appeared first on DCEBrief.
The Tether Mafia Control 80% Of Supply, Should Investors Be Concerned?
Critics of cryptocurrency have long accused the industry of collusion. And a recent article from Bloomberg, about the “Tether Mafia” controlling the supply, has done little to allay these fears.
According to Coin Metrics, there are 318 addresses with a Tether holding of million or more. And in total, these accounts make up .3 billion, or 80%, of the total Tether supply.
Tether Controversy
Since its launch in 2015, Tether has been subject to numerous controversies. All of which come down to the organization’s transparency in their dealings, chiefly their actual USD reserve holdings.
And despite the admission of a sizeable shortfall in USD reserves and the on-going investigation by the New York Attorney General (NYAG), Tether transactions continue to make up a fair chunk of total daily volume. And it remains to this day the number one stablecoin by a significant margin.
Steven Ehrlich, COO at the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, considers Tether be to like Teflon. In that, regardless of what controversies come up, nothing sticks. This, Ehrlich believes, is down to:
“…the fact that traders have not had latency or slippage moving in and out of positions and there has been enough evidence produced over the last 12 months to suggest that even if Tether was not 100% collateralized, it was not far off.”
What Would Happen If USDT Disappeared Tomorrow?
The question is, can, and should traders continue to ignore the risk. Especially so considering that a single entity can hold more than one address. Meaning the scope for market manipulation, by the “Tether Mafia,” is higher than the data suggests.
And while the NYAG has yet to report anything definitive, should they find indisputable evidence of Tether/Bitfinex fraud, there is no doubt that Bitcoin would suffer. And by extension, so would the rest of the cryptocurrency market.
In a worst-case scenario, one commentator sees a collapse of the entire market. With traders exiting en mass to minimize losses. He said:
“If the shock is sufficiently bad, it would be reasonable to expect a repricing of assets that could take valuations back to 2016 or 2015 levels.”
However, others take a more pragmatic view. Analyst, Sylvain Ribes believes that investors would be wise to consider the possibility of authorities shutting down Tether. But even if this happened, investors should not be fearful of the aftermath.
This is because Tether’s liquidity impact on Bitcoin has been greatly exaggerated by mainstream outlets, including CoinMarketCap. Ribes said:
“For indeed Bitcoin’s liquidity is widely distributed beyond USDT, and, as importantly, among exchanges, ensuring that the market would remain structurally similar and sound.”
As such, while prices may tank in the short-term, Ribes does not expect a single player to affect the entire market now, unlike in the days of MT. Gox. He concluded:
“Tether’s smothering hold on Bitcoin’s liquidity proves to largely be a fantasy.”
Image via Unsplash; Photo by Vladimir Solomyani
The post The Tether Mafia Control 80% Of Supply, Should Investors Be Concerned? appeared first on NewsBTC.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Concerned About Effects of Facebook’s Libra
n Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of crypto startup Ripple, is concerned about the regulatory response that the Libra stablecoin could potentially causen
CryptScout #BitFeed RSS – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency News 24/7