In the last three days, bitcoin miners have experienced an 8.4% drop in profits, echoing a decrease in bitcoin prices. Since then, the network’s hashrate has fallen below the 600 exahash per second (EH/s) mark. Price Drop Squeezes Bitcoin Mining Profits Revenue for bitcoin miners has declined as the hashprice, the revenue from 1 petahash […]
Bitcoin News
XRP Faces Bearish Pressures Amid Market Downturn: Analysts Divided On Next Move
XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network, became a focal point in the face of the recent downturn in the broader market, facing the consequences of breaching a crucial support level and prompting uncertainties regarding its immediate outlook.
In tandem with Bitcoin’s descent below the ,000 mark and Ethereum’s stumble beneath ,200, XRP mirrored the trend, slipping below the pivotal .51 threshold for the first time since January 3.
XRP Vulnerability Sparks Differing Views
This abrupt breakdown laid bare the vulnerability of XRP’s current standing, triggering a wave of speculation about its potential trajectory in the near term.
Amid the market turbulence, analysts have offered a spectrum of conflicting predictions, leaving investors to navigate a complex landscape characterized by mixed signals.
The varying assessments of XRP’s future add an additional layer of uncertainty to an already tumultuous market environment, compelling investors to carefully weigh their options and stay attuned to the dynamic nature of cryptocurrency markets.
JD, a technical analyst, identified a long-term triangular pattern in XRP’s price chart. He predicts a potential further decline towards the lower trendline of this pattern, with the .28-.33 range identified as a potential “buy-the-dip” zone.
#XRP – May be creating “Hidden Bullish Divergence” on weekly (candle body close below red line would negate divergence)
A “wick” down the orange box is very possible. (Orange box been posted since November 2023!)
My personal DCA: 0.28 – 0.33 (HEAVILY!), 0.45, 0.51, 0.59
Don’t… pic.twitter.com/ipMsM0p7ZE
— JD
(@jaydee_757) January 23, 2024
Ali Martinez, a veteran market observer, warned of a potentially steeper descent if XRP fails to hold above .55. Based on his Jan. 18 analysis, a breach of this level could trigger a significant drop, plummeting the token towards the .34 mark.
$XRP is currently grappling to maintain its footing at the crucial .55 support level. Should this support fail to hold, be prepared for a possible sell-off scenario that could see #XRP descending toward .34! pic.twitter.com/6oKObjpnnm
— Ali (@ali_charts) January 18, 2024
Alternatively, XRP Shark, another analyst, presented a more optimistic outlook. While acknowledging the possibility of a drop to the .35-.45 range, XRP Shark sees this as a potential buying opportunity and predicts a subsequent substantial recovery for the token.
Looking to load up a bit on XRP in the coming time between .35-.45
I personally think that will be the bottom area of this move down and a violent move to the upside is following. Invalidation below .30 cents (would be pretty bad to see it go past that level)
pic.twitter.com/OA0SbXOEOZ
— XRP_Shark (@XRP_Shark) January 22, 2024
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at .51, down 0.4% and 9.3% in the last 24 hours and seven days, respectively, according to data from Coingecko.
XRP Faces Critical .51 Threshold
The .51 threshold is one of the most important price zones for XRP because a retreat from this level could push the token below the psychological .50 level.
Despite the varied predictions, one consensus emerges: the short-term outlook for XRP appears bearish. With analysts anticipating further declines if crucial support levels are not held, investors should brace for potential volatility in the immediate future.
However, a closer look reveals glimmers of potential hope. Both XRP Shark and JD anticipate a future rebound for the token, albeit at different price points. This suggests that while the near-term may be turbulent, the longer-term prospects for XRP may not be devoid of promise.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
MasterCard Axes Partnership With Binance Amid Regulatory Pressures
The crypto space is in pandemonium after MasterCard, a global payment service giant, announced the imminent termination of its services and alliance with the Binance crypto exchange.
Mastercard To Sever All Ties To Binance
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is facing new challenges that could impact its reputation and growth rate. According to reports, Mastercard will discontinue its services on Binance, ending a years-old relationship and crypto cards programs starting Friday, September 22.
The reason for the abrupt termination has not been clarified by Mastercard. Some have attributed the news to the recent regulatory challenges and lawsuits Binance has been up against since this year.
Binance has refrained from making any comments regarding the reason for the suspension or who initiated the decision first. However, the crypto exchange has reassured users around the globe, stating that their Binance accounts are not affected by the news and they can continue their crypto transactions per usual.
“Binance accounts around the world are not affected. Where available, users can also shop with crypto and send crypto using Binance Pay, a contactless, borderless, and secure cryptocurrency payment technology designed by Binance,” Binance stated.
Mastercard and Binance have been working together as partners for about four years. Around August 2022, they both joined hands to initiate debit card programs for four major countries, allowing users in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Bahrain to have access to cryptocurrency assets via their Mastercards linked to a cryptocurrency wallet.
Binance first partnered with Mastercard to launch crypto card payments in Brazil and Latin America at the beginning of 2023. The crypto exchange then made a similar announcement and launched prepaid crypto cards in Argentina in August 2022.
Financial Service Companies Break Away Following SEC Lawsuit
Binance has been in a legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since June when the SEC sued the crypto exchange for allegedly offering unregistered securities. The regulator further attempted to freeze all Binance assets stating that the crypto exchange was operating a “web of deception” and filing 13 charges against Binance.
Since then, Binance has been facing regulatory hurdles and industry challenges with many companies ending year-long partnerships and the price of BNB declining as a result.
The cryptocurrency exchange has also ended several projects in the course of a month and carried out massive layoffs following the SEC’s Lawsuits.
Recently, Binance shut down all cryptocurrency service operations on its official fiat-to-cryptocurrency payments provider, Binance Connect. The cryptocurrency exchange also discontinued its partnership with Checkout.com, a global payment service, after Checkout’s CEO terminated its contract this month.
Visa, another payment service giant, also cut ties with Binance in July and stopped supplying co-branded cards with Binance in Europe.
At the moment, it is unsure what the outcome of the SEC and Binance case would be. However, the results will undoubtedly impact the crypto industry and financial sector.
Japanese Yen Hits 20-Year Low Against US Dollar; BOJ Maintains Loose Policy Amid Inflation Pressures
In the last month, Japan’s official currency has dipped slightly more than 1% in comparison to the U.S. dollar. Then, on Tuesday, the Japanese yen plummeted to its weakest position against the greenback in over 20 years, a shift that came after the Bank of Japan opted to keep its extremely loose monetary policy unchanged, despite the mounting pressures of inflation and a depreciating currency.
Yen’s Steepest Dive in 20 Years as BOJ Stands Firm on Loose Monetary Strategy
The yen weakened past 143 to the dollar on Tuesday, down more than 5 yen from Friday when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced it would allow long-term yields to rise to 1% from 0.5%. The BOJ kept its key interest rate at -0.1% and said the 1% cap on 10-year bond yields was not a fixed target but a loose guideline.
Economists had speculated the BOJ would start normalizing policy to combat rising prices, but it cited wage-driven rather than cost-push inflation as the key factor in any changes. This disappointed currency traders who sold the yen aggressively, reversing an initial 2% gain Friday.
BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda suggested that it’s possible to start normalizing monetary policy if the BOJ becomes confident that inflation will pick up next year. However, Ueda also mentioned that for now, underlying inflation remains below 2% and the BOJ’s outlook is for price increases to slow toward the end of the year.
Wondering why the USDJPY is crushing the ceilings? Look no further than the spreads between Japanese and US bonds. The carry trade is earning 5.531% on 1-yr and 3.388% on 10-yr spreads. pic.twitter.com/IORN1bXOri
— Rufas Kamau
(@RufasKe) August 1, 2023
The widening yield spread between Japan and the U.S. reduces incentives for the “yen carry trade” where investors borrow cheaply in yen to purchase higher-yielding U.S. assets. As carry trades unwind, dollars are repaid and the yen strengthens. Six-month statistics against the U.S. dollar show the yen is up more than 11%.
“All these markets are linked together in terms of global liquidity flows. People borrow in yen to buy dollars, dollars sit around looking for something to do, people say we might buy Treasuries or Apple,” the global equities fund manager at Artemis, Simon Edelsten, told Reuters on July 27.
At the moment current bond market volatility suggests yields will remain elevated. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 0.6%, up just 0.15 points since Thursday. Markets expect further BOJ intervention if yields spike too fast. The Federal Reserve has supported measures to provide U.S. dollars to Japan in a crisis after setting up swap lines last year. But uncertainty reigns over whether dollar strength or yen weakness will dominate.
What do you think about the Japanese yen’s recent performance and the BOJ’s unwavering stance? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Conflux (CFX) Shows Mettle, Shoots Up Over 87% Despite Crypto Market Pressures
Although Bitcoin is far and away the most popular cryptocurrency, there are other digital currencies like Conflux (CFX) that are doing rather well. In order to achieve even greater levels of success than its rivals, Conflux is constantly innovating and expanding its business.
Conflux is building a system with real-world companies to make its currency more important in the cryptoverse. While some other digital currencies are not performing up to par anymore, Conflux is on the rise and could be a major player in the future.
Proof of this is how the Conflux network’s governance token, CFX, has been putting up a solid performance of late. At the time of writing, CFX is trading at .3134, up an impressive 87.2% in the last seven days as the rest of the major cryptocurrencies shed a great deal of their value.
Based on data by crypto market tracker Coingecko, CFX has registered a solid 456% increase in the last month. In the final week of February, the token reached a high of .3690 before retracing to a low of .3145. Its price is around 130% higher than its lowest level this month. I ts value has increased this year by more than 1,300%, making it one of the top gaining coins.
Conflux network (CFX), also known as China’s MATIC, is undeniably a high-growth token whose price movement has captivated the majority of industry analysts since the beginning of the year.
The sudden failure of three major banks – Silvergate Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank – has raised concerns about the future of the digital asset industry and whether it will continue to have access to traditional finance in the U.S.
Despite the recent banking collapse in the United States that has become a source of worry for those in the crypto industry, some cryptocurrency projects emerge unscathed, and CFX is one of them.
Meanwhile, a cursory examination of the platform’s on-chain stats reveals that the number of new accounts has reached its highest level for 2023. The overall number of new accounts on the network reached an all-time high of 18,000. This indicates that investors are increasing interest in the network.
Also, Conflux has maintained a solid ecosystem pattern of development, which has also contributed to its price spike. The CFX token is also deemed and labeled as one of the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem’s top projects with the most social connection.
Conflux’s trading volume grew in response to the increasing demand for China-related blockchains and tokens. The Conflux is the only blockchain in China that complies with legal requirements and utilizes the Tree-Graph consensus mechanism for increased throughput and scalability.
-Featured image from Inside Bodybuilding
Cardano (ADA) Looks To Recover After Sliding To $0.43 – Pressure’s On For The Bulls
Cardano (ADA) price experienced a protracted run along a falling angle formed on June 27, when the price was .52. Since then, ADA has retreated gradually to find support at .44.
Nonetheless, ADA may be slowly returning to the green zone, as its price increased throughout the weekend’s session after plummeting to a low of .43 on Friday.
Cardano is a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain platform of the third generation aiming to be a more effective option to proof-of-work networks.
Suggested Reading | Ethereum (ETH) Bends Toward ,000 As Doubt Fills Crypto Markets
The token is at a crossroads at this point, and the price might move in any direction. If the bulls can summon enough strength, an upswing to .64 is possible, but the support zone around .42 to .44 might potentially provide some more push for the coin.
In the next days, the overall trend will likely benefit the sellers. Unless buyers intervene at the immediate support level, ADA could experience a lengthy dip prior to a robust recovery.
Bear Market Pushes ADA To 7-Day Weakness
As of this writing, ADA is trading at .4507, down 9.5% in the last seven days, data from Coingecko show, Sunday.
The broader crypto market continues to exhibit bearish indicators, headed by Bitcoin’s inability to surpass the ,000 threshold. BTC, the most sought-after cryptocurrency, is currently trading at ,105, down 11.2% in the past week, according to Coingecko statistics.
ADA total market cap at .6 billion on the weekend chart | Source: TradingView.com
In contrast, Ethereum declined by more over 2 percent, remaining just above the ,000 threshold. Ripple and Dogecoin remained unchanged at .44 and .05 respectively, while Solana declined 2% to .04. Litecoin decreased by 2% to .57, whereas Polkadot fell to .70.
ADA ranks eighth on CoinMarketCap’s chart of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The coin saw a 24-hour decline of 3.80%, bringing its price to .4514. Consequently, its entire market capitalization is .37 billion.
The Bulls Have Their Hands Full To Lift Cardano
If the bulls are able to retake the 21-day simple moving average, which is now located at .50, the bearish downtrend could be invalidated early on. If the bulls can reclaim this level, they may be able to advance to .20, a 170 percent increase from the current Cardano price.
As evidenced by the rising relative strength index (RSI) score of 41.40, ADA is likely to advance at the present time.
Suggested Reading | Shiba Inu (SHIB) Shines Green In Pool Of Crimson – Who’s Buying?
If buyers can consolidate above the current trend over the next 24 to 48 hours, ADA will be aiming for the critical 50-day exponential moving average (EMA).
For a trend reversal to materialize, ADA must close above the present pattern’s upper limit within the following 24 hours. In contrast, a decline to .42 might undercut the optimistic rationale.
Featured image from Cryptoknowmics, chart from TradingView.com
NewsBTC
FATF Pressures OKEx to Delist Monero, Zcash, Dash; Litecoin Next?
A guideline issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is prompting OKEx to delist popular privacy-centering cryptocurrencies.
Travel Rule
The Korean wing of the cryptocurrency firm announced on Monday that it is going to stop trading of Monero, Zcash, Dash, Horizen, and Super Bitcoin on its exchange. All the five assets, in one way or another, allows users to hide their financial transactions by introducing additional layers of security.
OKEx said in a note that the five cryptocurrencies could “violate laws or regulations/policies of government agencies and major agencies.” The exchange was citing FATF, an intergovernmental organization that combats money laundering on a global scale. The task force in October 2018 enforced a so-called ‘travel rule,’ which requires cryptocurrency exchanges to obtain relevant users’ information, including the virtual wallet addresses of senders and receivers involved in a cryptocurrency transaction.
Privacy coins such as Monero and Zcash assists users in hiding those details. That makes it difficult for cryptocurrency firms to monitor and report those transactions to FATF. OKEx said it would delist Monero, Zcash, Dash, Horizen, and Super Bitcoin, merely to keep itself in line of the global watchdog’s directives.
Zcash and blockchain privacy is like selling seatbelts in 1910. Yes they're needed, but no one knows yet.@EranTromer
— Ian Miers (@secparam) September 12, 2019
The move has made OKEx the second exchange to have gone after anonymity-focused coins under regulatory pressure. Earlier in June 2018, way before FATF had imposed the ‘travel rule,’ Japan-based Coincheck had removed Monero, Zcash, and Dash from its exchange after facing pressure from the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
OKEx would disable the privacy coins’ deposits on October 10, 2019. Nevertheless, users will still be able to withdraw their privacy coins to their wallet addresses until December 10, 2019.
Troubles for Litecoin Ahead?
As exchanges operating from FATF member states follow suit and start delisting privacy coin, the move could spell troubles on the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The .5 billion cryptoasset Litecoin in August announced that it is going to become a privacy coin. Founder Charlie Lee went ahead and admitted that they are going to introduce “confidential transactions” in a “future release of the the full [litecoin] node” in 2019 – after the online community accused him and core developers of abandoning Litecoin.
11/ I will address the progress on MimbleWimble (MW) and Confidential Transactions (CT). When I announced that I will start working on MW, someone asked me for an ETA. And I responded with should be sometime 2019. https://t.co/nfWd11ThpE
— Charlie Lee [LTC
] (@SatoshiLite) August 11, 2019
The announcement kept Litecoin investors happy, as it maintained the coin’s bullish narrative intact. The LTC/USD exchange rate had risen by more than 500 percent between December 2018 and July 2019 – before Lee confirmed the development of “confidential transactions.” The upsurge majorly came on the shoulders of Litecoin’s halving event, which earlier this year reduce the cryptocurrency’s supply-rate by half.
The LTC/USD pair is now down by more than 50 percent, driven by higher demand for rival asset bitcoin. And as the Litecoin project goes ahead with its plans of becoming an anonymity-focused coin, the likelihood of it being rejected by exchanges operating from FATF’s 39 member states could go higher.
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Cryptocurrency Bear Market Pressures Shapeshift into Layoffs
The ongoing cryptocurrency bear market appears to have claimed yet another victim. The latest digital currency-related firm to announce a restructure is exchange platform Shapeshift.
According to a Medium post by the company’s CEO, 37 of Shapeshift’s employees have been laid off. This represents around one third of the staff at the cryptocurrency startup.
More Cryptocurrency Companies Feel the Pinch
Voorhees’s post details the reasoning behind the restructuring – Shapeshift’s embrace of “substantial exposure to crypto assets”. With so much of the firm’s financial standing relying on the prices of hugely volatile digital currencies, the CEO stated that although it was a conscious decision, it was a substantial risk to take.
He goes on to apologise to the staff he has let go of today, addressing them with what seems like genuine regret for the situation and gratitude for the work they did for the company:
“I am sorry this happened. Your confusion, your sadness, your anger… all of it is understandable, and I am sorry to put you through it. Your contributions — of effort, of personality, of experience — remain part of our fabric. Though it has ended, we are improved by our time with you, and I hope you find yourselves improved by your time with us.”
According to Voorhees, much of the reasoning for the redundancies comes from the crypto firm’s own poor business decisions. The chief of these is “a lack of focus” and a spreading of resources much too thinly.
For the CEO, projects like CoinCap, the firm’s market data platform; KeepKey, its hardware wallet offering; and others still underdevelopment distracted focus from Shapeshift’s central business model:
“… ultimately, the whole of this family of projects was less than the sum of its parts.”
Voorhees states that such diversification came too soon in the company’s short life and it was difficult to focus on how thinly resources were stretched with the bull market of 2017 distorting the firm’s success:
“Everything was going well. Hundred percent growth every month has a way of obfuscating reality.”
Going forward, the Shapeshift executive has pledged that his company will stay truer to the spirit of cryptocurrency. Perhaps inspired partly by Trace Mayer’s recent “Proof-of-Keys” event, Voorhees reiterates the importance of “controlling your own keys” to realise the truly revolutionary qualities of cryptocurrency:
“Among its many virtues, crypto assets enable people (and machines) to store value easily themselves and to transfer value directly to someone else, anywhere on Earth… This power is awesome and unprecedented.”
Finally, he stated that the firm has spent much of 2018 “weaving the new Shapeshift into existence”. This will be revealed at an undisclosed date soon.
Shapeshift Just One of Many Cryptocurrency Firms Making Layoffs
In recent weeks, NewsBTC has reported on many other examples of big cryptocurrency players being forced to let go of staff. Already, we have seen the likes of Steemit, ConsenSys, Bitmain, and Huobi make redundancies (or be rumoured to be in the process of doing so).
These are just the very biggest firms in the space . There will be many more examples of unheard of companies that have simply folded or drastically reduced their own staff size. It seems likely that more companies will follow as the balance sheets of these heavily-crypto-invested firms forces them to rethink their operations to remain financially viable.
Related Reading: eToro Executive: Crypto Correction in 2018 is a Blessing in Disguise, Bull Market Expected
Featured Image from Shutterstock.
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CryptoUK Pressures MPs to Regulate the UK’s Digital Currency Industry
A group of British cryptocurrency platforms are putting pressure on several members of parliament to regulate the U.K. digital currency space favourably.
CryptoUK comprises of eight members and aims to create a more transparent and reliable legal status for investors and businesses in the sector.
Regulation Could Either Stifle or Encourage Financial Innovation in the UK
CryptoUK put forward their proposals in writing to the Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry into cryptocurrencies today. The inquiry aims to explore how digital currencies are used in the U.K. This will include the risks that the emerging financial innovation will pose to businesses, consumers, and the government.
The self-regulated group of exchanges are hoping that the U.K. will follow a liberal approach to regulation. In today’s correspondence with MPs, the group suggested that they should favour regulation that targets exchanges and other such service providers, rather than the digital currencies themselves. They also believe that the governing of the cryptocurrency investment sector should be the remit of the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In addition, CryptoUK wants the FCA to be responsible for creating and enforcing various new requirements. These will include anti-money laundering rules, operational standards, and checks on the appropriateness of investors.
The chair of the group and current managing director of eToro, Iqbal Gandham, spoke to local news source CityAM earlier today about CryptoUK’s suggestions:
“Introducing a requirement for the FCA to regulate the ‘on-off’ ramps between crypto and fiat currencies is well within the remit of HM Treasury. Based on our analysis, this could be achieved relatively easily, without the need for primary legislation, and would have a huge impact, both in reducing consumer risk and improving industry standards.”
He went on to cite examples of countries who had successfully regulated along a similar approach to the one advocated by CryptoUK. The nations mentioned explicitly were Japan and Gibraltar. Finally, Gandham highlighted the importance of the U.K. approaching cryptocurrency regulation sensitively:
“This is a wonderful opportunity for government to take a proactive stance, putting action where there are positive words and reinforcing the U.K.’s role as the world’s financial capital.”
With the U.K.’s departure from Europe imminent, digital currencies could provide a convenient opportunity to lure businesses to the British Isles. If regulation is handled well and provides companies in the space with sufficient incentive to relocate to the U.K., cryptocurrency could inject much needed capital into an economy that many fear will be worse off following the completion of Brexit next March.
Image from Shutterstock.
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Bitcoin Mining Pressures Hardware Prices
Demand for computer components has skyrocketed with the surge of cryptocurrency mining, with prices more than doubling the past 12 months in some cases as suppliers are struggling to build enough capacity to meet the needs of the emerging market.
Prices of PC Components Skyrocket Due to Bitcoin Mining
The cryptocurrency mining boom is taking the blame for the inflationary prices in the PC hardware industry. The exponential demand for processing power and memory needed to mine crypto hashes for cryptocurrency is not being followed by similar growth in industrial capacity to supply those items. As miners buy video cards and sticks of RAM in bulk to set up their mining rigs, retailers have a hard time getting them from suppliers such as Samsung, AMD, and NVIDIA.
Miners are demanding more powerful rigs that can include up to 500 graphics cards each which has created a worldwide shortage of the cards allowing manufacturers and retailers to gauge buyers on the price. Checking the price of the 5 most popular graphics cards from last year and comparing it with the updated version shows a general price increase of between 70 and 100%. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070 should cost around 0, but some cards are now being sold for more than 0 due to the massive shortages in the consumer GPU market.
This new demand for mining rigs has revitalized these electronic markets that were dying only a few years ago when shoppers turned online for computers, cameras, and gadgets of all kinds. To meet the newfound demand, AMD and Samsung have developed mining boards that use ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) to run advances hashing algorithms, but these items are yet to become competitive in price and quality. For now, it’s more profitable to buy graphics cards in bulk.
ASIC based miners have custom components built only for the purpose of Bitcoin mining. These devices have enormous processing power, generating a huge hash rate for effective mining. However, not everyone can set up a server and install ASICs. Individuals who use GPUs currently available in the market are able to mine cryptocurrency but they can’t expect to make many profits.
Image Courtesy of Shutterstock
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