2020 Innovations in Cell Rejuvenation, COVID-19 Diagnostic Kits & Vaccines, Biobased Plastics, Renewable Energy, and Quantum Computing -…

Posted on May 12, 2020 by admin

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "2020 Innovations in Cell Rejuvenation, COVID-19 Diagnostic Kits and Vaccines, Biobased Plastics, Renewable Energy, and Quantum Computing" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This edition of the Inside R&D Technology Opportunity Engine (TOE) features trends and innovations based on the development of lead vaccines and diagnostic test kits to combat the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The TOE also provides intelligence on the use of novel innovations that help in developing numerous antibodies for the COVID-19 virus. The TOE also features innovations in developing anti-aging cells and the use of artificial intelligence and digital platforms for pandemic contact tracking.

The TOE additionally provides insights on using modular thermal energy storage devices and combined heat and power solutions to enhance the positive impact on the environment. Furthermore, the TOE covers enhancing capabilities of robots, efficient hydrogen production, and the use of composites in marine, oil & gas industries. It also focuses on innovations related to the use of carbon-silicon composites, biodegradable insulation material, and cellulose-based polyamides.

Key Topics Covered

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/v1gekk

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2020 Innovations in Cell Rejuvenation, COVID-19 Diagnostic Kits & Vaccines, Biobased Plastics, Renewable Energy, and Quantum Computing -...

QUANTUM COMPUTING INC. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, (form 10-Q) – marketscreener.com

Posted on May 12, 2020 by admin

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q and other reports filed Quantum Computing,Inc. (the "Company" "we", "our", and "us") from time to time with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") contain or may containforward-looking statements and information that are based upon beliefs of, andinformation currently available to, the Company's management as well asestimates and assumptions made by Company's management. Readers are cautionednot to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are onlypredictions and speak only as of the date hereof. When used in the filings, thewords "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "future," "intend," "plan,"or the negative of these terms and similar expressions as they relate to theCompany or the Company's management identify forward-looking statements. Suchstatements reflect the current view of the Company with respect to future eventsand are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors,including the risks contained in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company'sAnnual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, relatingto the Company's industry, the Company's operations and results of operations,and any businesses that the Company may acquire. Should one or more of theserisks or uncertainties materialize, or should the underlying assumptions proveincorrect, actual results may differ significantly from those anticipated,believed, estimated, expected, intended, or planned.Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in theforward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee futureresults, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Except as required byapplicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, the Companydoes not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform thesestatements to actual results.Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principlesgenerally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). These accounting principlesrequire us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions. We believe thatthe estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable basedupon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments andassumptions are made. These estimates, judgments and assumptions can affect thereported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financialstatements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during theperiods presented. Our financial statements would be affected to the extentthere are material differences between these estimates and actual results. Inmany cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specificallydictated by GAAP and does not require management's judgment in its application.There are also areas in which management's judgment in selecting any availablealternative would not produce a materially different result. The followingdiscussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notesthereto appearing elsewhere in this report.OverviewAt the present time, we are a development stage company with limitedoperations. The Company is currently developing "quantum ready" softwareapplications and solutions for companies that want to leverage the promise ofquantum computing. We believe the quantum computer holds the potential todisrupt several global industries. Independent of when quantum computingdelivers compelling performance advantage over classical computing, the softwaretools and applications to accelerate real-world problems must be developed todeliver quantum computing's full promise. We specialize in quantumcomputer-ready software application, analytics, and tools, with a mission todeliver differentiated performance using non-quantum processors in thenear-term.We are leveraging our collective expertise in finance, computing, mathematicsand physics to develop a suite of quantum software applications that may enableglobal industries to utilize quantum computers, quantum annealers and digitalsimulators to improve their processes, profitability, and security. We primarilyfocus on the quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) formulation,which is equivalent to the Ising model implemented by hardware annealers, bothnon-quantum from Fujitsu and others and quantum from D-Wave Systems, and alsomappable to gate-model quantum processors. We are building a software stack thatmaps and optimizes problems in the QUBO form and then solves them powerfully oncloud-based processors. Our software is designed to be capable of running onboth classical computers and on annealers such as D-Wave's quantum processor. Weare also building applications and analytics that deliver the power of oursoftware stack to high-value discrete optimization problems posed by financial,bio/pharma, and cybersecurity analysts. The advantages our software delivers canbe faster time-to-solution to the same results, more-optimal solutions, ormultiple solutions. 2

Products and Products in Development

The Company is currently working on software products to address, communitydetection (analysis for pharmaceutical applications and epidemiology),optimization of job shop scheduling, logistics, and dynamic route optimizationfor transportation systems. The Company is continuing to seek out difficultproblems for which our technology may provide improvement over existingsolutions.

We are continuing to develop software to address two classes of financialoptimization problems: Asset allocation and Yield Curve Trades. For assetallocation, our target clients are the asset allocation departments of largefunds, who we envision using our application to improve their allocation ofcapital into various asset classes.

Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 vs. March 31, 2019

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes total current assets, liabilities and workingcapital at March 31, 2020, compared to December 31, 2019:

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We have identified the accounting policies below as critical to our businessoperations and the understanding of our results of operations.

Lease expense for operating leases consists of the lease payments plus anyinitial direct costs, primarily brokerage commissions, and is recognized on astraight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company's policy is to present bank balances under cash and cashequivalents, which at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Companyhas not experienced any losses in such accounts.

Net loss per share is based on the weighted average number of common shares andcommon shares equivalents outstanding during the period.

Edgar Online, source Glimpses

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QUANTUM COMPUTING INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, (form 10-Q) - marketscreener.com

Outgoing innovation commissioner says British Columbia needs to create innovation hubs – BetaKit

Posted on May 12, 2020 by admin

British Columbias innovation commissioner has released his final report on how the provincial government can help BC tech, and support innovation across all of the provinces sectors.

Alan Winter, who is the provinces first innovation commissioner, completed his two-year term with the Government of British Columbia on February 4. This report is his final one to Michelle Mungall, minister of jobs, economic development, and competitiveness, on his observations on the innovation sector in the province. Winter made five recommendations to the government.

Winter acknowledged that BCs federal funding has not been leveraged in a significant way.

My recommendations are focused on helping to grow BC companies and are intended to be affordable, actionable in the short term, and reflect the advice I have heard repeatedly, Winter said.

The first recommendation is to fund the establishment and operation of innovation precincts across the province. He refers to precincts as physical places, predominantly centrally located within a community that help foster cross-sectoral innovation and organically grow talent and commercial development. Winter used MaRS Discovery District in Toronto as an example of an innovation precinct.

While there is currently no precinct on the scale of MaRS here, there could be, Winter said in his report, adding that an innovation precinct could be established at St. Pauls hospital campus which would be focused on health research and development.

Notably, Winter acknowledged that BCs federal funding, from sources such as the federal Strategic Investment Fund, has not been leveraged in a significant way, and that the province has made limited investments in innovation precincts.

RELATED: British Columbias 2020 budget lacks new spending for tech and innovation

Last year, the BC Tech Association was unable to secure provincial or federal funding to enable the Cube, an augmented reality and virtual reality community hub, to remain open.

Other leading members of BCs tech sector have also expressed concern over the lack of innovation hubs in the province. One entrepreneur and CEO BetaKit spoke with on background expressed frustration with the provinces lack of support for local hubs, accelerators, and incubators.

Weve been forced to be entrepreneurial, the person told BetaKit. Weve never had a lot of government support. I think there are going to be some serious problems down the road if people dont address it.

As government support has dwindled for some local innovation hubs, the province has touted the influx of large tech companies to BC, such as Shopify and Amazon opening large offices in the city.

Winters second recommendation is to support the development of emerging technology clusters, which would differ from precincts as they would be geographically connected groups working together in a particular field.

Winter also recommended the province support the development of emerging technology clusters.

Winter highlighted that BC could develop clusters in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, genomics, or augmented and virtual reality. The province is already establishing partnerships within some of these verticals, such as a proposed innovation corridor between Surrey and Vancouver focused on quantum computing.

Vancouver is among the ecosystems to watch for artificial intelligence development, according to last years Startup Genome report. BC is also home to startups like D-Wave and 1QBit, focused on advancing quantum computing research, and startups like Form and Archiact, which are bringing AR and VR products to market.

The province of BC should work with the federal government to catalyze, align, and co-fund key provincial cluster priority areas which would leverage dollars available from several sources such as the federal Strategic Investment Fund, Winter said.

Winters third recommendation is to use the CleanBC Plan as an economic driver. The plan, announced in 2018, is aimed at reducing climate pollution, while creating jobs and economic opportunities. Last year, Startup Genome listed Vancouver as an ecosystem to watch for cleantech, referencing companies like Terramera and Carbon Engineering as companies that have experienced notable growth.

The provinces CleanBC plan sets out a good climate vision and brand but the opportunity exists to use the strategy to drive further economic growth in BC, Winter said, recommending the provincial government incentivize companies to seek out BC solutions when working to meet its climate targets and regulations.

Winters fourth recommendation is to encourage the creation of and protect intellectual property (IP). Winter noted that some of the provinces main challenges in this area include IP leakage, a poor incentive structure, the cost of patents, and relatively low levels of business investment in research and development.

RELATED: SFU gets $17 million from BC government to establish quantum research institute

The outgoing innovation commissioner recommended the government provide matching funding to BC-based small and medium enterprises to assist them in seeking patent protection. He said this, along with tax incentives for income related to the sale of patented products, could encourage companies to increase IP activity within the province.

Winters final recommendation is to invest in leadership talent development strategies. He said although BC has a highly skilled and talented workforce, the province lacks experienced leaders who can scale and grow companies.

As a result, BC firms are at higher risk of acquisition by larger companies based in other jurisdictions, he said. Government should [develop] mentorship and leadership skills across the province, incorporating them as a key component of precincts, and as a means to supporting local companies growth.

Image source BC Tech Association.

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Outgoing innovation commissioner says British Columbia needs to create innovation hubs - BetaKit

U.S. Officials: Beware Of China And Others Trying To Steal COVID-19 Research – NPR

Posted on May 12, 2020 by admin

A pharmacist gives Jennifer Haller a shot in the first-stage safety clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19 on March 16 at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. U.S. officials say they are already seeing efforts by foreign actors to steal information from U.S. firms working on a vaccine and treatments for the virus. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

As researchers around the globe race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, U.S. authorities are warning American firms to exercise extreme caution in safeguarding their research against China and others with a track record of stealing cutting-edge medical technology.

"We are imploring all those research facilities and hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that are doing really great research to do everything in their power to protect it," Bill Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in an interview with NPR.

"We don't want that company or the research hospital to be the one a year from now, two years from now, identified as having it all stolen before they finished it," said Evanina, whose center falls under the director of national intelligence.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Britain's National Cyber Security Center recently issued a statement saying hackers are "actively targeting organisations ... that include healthcare bodies, pharmaceutical companies, academia, medical research organisations, and local government."

The statement did not name China or any other country. Reuters reported that hackers linked to Iran tried to break into email accounts at the U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences, which has a potentially promising drug to treat the COVID-19 virus. Iran denied the report.

China's record

Meanwhile, Evanina says China, far more than any other country, has been aggressively stealing valuable medical technology for years. Information on a possible vaccine would be a huge prize.

"We have full expectation that China will do everything in their power to obtain any viable research that we are conducting here in the U.S.," Evanina said. "That will be in line with their capabilities and intent the last decade plus, and we are expecting them to continue to do so."

A number of drug makers, research labs and government health bodies have announced efforts to seek a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. That's made them a target, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz said recently.

"We certainly have seen reconnaissance activity, and some intrusions, into some of those institutions," she said. "It kind of makes them a mark for other nation-states that are interested in gleaning details about what exactly they're doing and maybe even stealing proprietary information."

China has long denied involvement in corporate espionage and has called for international cooperation to accelerate progress on COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. Beijing points to its sharing of the coronavirus' gene sequence as evidence of its sincerity. Meanwhile, Chinese labs say they are racing ahead to find a homegrown vaccine.

President Trump and his administration have frequently criticized China for its handling of the coronavirus. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said the virus may have escaped from a lab in the central city of Wuhan. But they have not provided evidence, and this has led to skepticism about some administration claims regarding what has happened inside China in recent months.

'Made in China 2025'

However, the U.S. national security community has shared a broad consensus for years about what they say is a sustained Chinese government effort to acquire, lawfully or not, a wide range of intellectual property, including medical research.

U.S. officials often point to China's President Xi Jinping and his "Made in China 2025" plan, which calls for the country to be a world leader in the most important technologies of the 21st century artificial intelligence, renewable energy, quantum computing, driverless cars and wide range of medical technologies.

In the past couple years, the Justice Department has filed charges in multiple cases involving Chinese nationals or people suspected of working for China to steal medical technology, often involving cancer research.

U.S. officials describe these efforts as taking several different forms.

One is widespread and persistent hacking attempts directed at tech companies or research labs working on technology China has identified as important.

A second method is sending students or researchers to work in the U.S., often for extended periods. In a case last year, the Justice Department filed charges against a Chinese couple that worked for 10 years at an Ohio lab that researches pediatric diseases, including childhood cancers. U.S. authorities accuse the couple of stealing research at the Ohio lab for use in a company the husband-and-wife team had established back in China.

U.S. officials say a third path is China's Thousand Talents Program. China identifies promising research, often at a U.S. university, then offers funding through its Thousand Talents Program with the expectation it will get access to the research as well. U.S. academics are required to tell the U.S. government if they receive such foreign funding.

Security briefings

To combat the theft of U.S. technology, Evanina works with law enforcement and other government partners to brief company CEOs, university presidents and other leaders of organizations that are being targeted.

This began several years ago, and includes senior leaders in the medical community. Sometimes they are called to Washington for a briefing where the organizations may also hear from Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat.

"We provide (the organizations) a one-day classified briefing. We make sure they understand the complexity of the threat. We've done that for multiple sectors that include hospitals, medical centers and research institutions and the pharmaceutical community as well," said Evanina.

Greg Myre is an NPR national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.

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U.S. Officials: Beware Of China And Others Trying To Steal COVID-19 Research - NPR

Bitcoin investors are bracing for a key technical event here’s what you need to know – CNBC

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency bitcoin.

Yu Chun Christopher Wong| S3studio | Getty Images

Bitcoin faces a key technical event Monday known as the "halving." Due to take place later in the day, industry insiders are debating what effect it might have on the cryptocurrency market.

So what is the halving? You can think of it as an update to the underlying network that logs all bitcoin transactions. There are so-called "miners" on this network with specialized computing rigs competing to solve complex math problems to validate bitcoin transactions. Whoever wins that race gets rewarded in bitcoin.

On Monday, the amount of bitcoins rewarded to those miners is set to get cut in half. This is something that takes place roughly every four years to keep a lid on inflation. The current reward stands at 12.5 bitcoins, or BTC, so that will now be reduced to 6.25 BTC.

Unlike fiat currencies like the dollar, there is no central bank that manages the supply of bitcoin or its inflation rate. Instead, this is maintained thanks to a rule written into bitcoin's code by pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.

The total number of bitcoins that will ever be mined is capped at 21 million. Rewards to bitcoin miners keep halving until they reach zero. Bitcoin bulls say that this scarcity is part of what underpins the cryptocurrency's value and make it a potential "hedge" against currencies that are vulnerable to devaluation in times of economic crisis.

"With its finite and scheduled supply and decentralized architecture, BTC, in particular, offers the certainty needed in times like these, and will likely become a new safe-haven asset class," cryptocurrency lending start-up Nexo wrote in a note last week.

Investors are likely to closely watch the reaction of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices to the halving event later in the day. Some believe the event has been mostly priced into markets already, but there are others who think it could boost prices.

The past two halvings led to opposite short-term price movements, according to British bitcoin exchange CoinCorner. Bitcoin climbed 7% one month on from the first halving event in 2012, but slipped 10% a month after the second one in 2016. However, the price rose 944% six months on from the 2012 halving and 38% in the same period in 2016.

"While many anticipate bullish movements post-halving, we believe the supply shock that comes immediately after the halving event should have limited impact on price in the short term," Lennard Neo, head of research at Singapore-based bitcoin index fund provider Stack, said in a note Thursday. "As the block reward for miners decreases, there will be a time lag as miners (supply side) reposition towards market equilibrium."

"We anticipate that it could take 6-9 months before this equilibrium is found and Bitcoin realises halving-induced price appreciation. That said, further turmoil in the broader economies could accelerate its upward trajectory."

But there are also fears that the 2020 halving will also have an impact on miners' earnings, as they'll need more competitive mining gear to win bitcoin rewards.

"Miners currently need to produce more work to get the same reward," said Ed Hindi, CIO at Cayman Islands-based cryptocurrency hedge fund Tyr Capital. "Post halving their expected returns will be cut in half."

Bitcoin has risen more than 20% since the start of the year. The virtual currency, known for its volatility, suffered at sharp drop over the weekend. It briefly touched $10,000 on Friday but has since declined to around $8,800 as of Monday morning.

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Bitcoin investors are bracing for a key technical event here's what you need to know - CNBC

Bitcoin Halving: Is Now When To Buy Bitcoin? – Forbes

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

Bitcoin is on the cusp of a supply squeeze, known as a halvingsomething that happens roughly once every four years.

But what will the bitcoin halving mean for the bitcoin price and should investors buy bitcoin now?

The bitcoin price has bounced around below $10,000 per bitcoin over the last week. Some are worried ... [+] bitcoin could be heading for a cliff edge after the halving.

Later today, expected around 5pm EDT, the number of bitcoin rewarded to those that maintain the bitcoin network, called miners, will be cut by halfdropping from 12.5 bitcoin to 6.25.

The effects of 2020 bitcoin halving, the first since bitcoin exploded onto the global stage as a result of its massive 2017 bull run, has been debated for years.

No one knows how the bitcoin price will react to the supply squeeze, though many in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency community are confident the bitcoin price will climb eventually.

But in the short term, the bitcoin market is widely-expected to be highly volatile.

"Through today we are likely to see increased volatility and tactical trading ahead of the halving," Marcus Swanepoel, the chief executive of London-based bitcoin and crypto exchange Luno, said in a note.

Bitcoin has already seen an uptick in volatility in the run up to the halving over the last week.

After starting last week at under $9,000 per bitcoin, the bitcoin price rallied hard to over $10,000 before crashing back over the weekend.

"The move back down to $8,000 wasnt a big surprise," said Rich Rosenblum, co-head of trading at Hong Kong-based crypto market maker GSR, adding, "its likely that were going to see increased volatility through May, with the pandemic, ongoing stimulus measures and the halving."

Bitcoin has been one of the best performing assets since the broad coronavirus market crash in March, with the bitcoin price more than doubling from lows of around $4,000.

Many bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges have reported surging user numbers and trading volume.

"Bitcoin has risen over 100% over the last few months and we believe most of that rise was driven by continued retail demand," said Scott Freeman, co-founder at New York-based bitcoin and crypto-focused institutional trading firm JST Capital.

"We expect continued volatility but expect to see good long term risk reward in bitcoin and also expect it to behave in an uncorrelated manner to traditional financial assets."

The bitcoin price, well known to be highly volatile, is expected to make wild swings after the ... [+] coming halving before the market settles.

Meanwhile, the bitcoin and crypto community was rocked last week by news legendary macro investor Paul Tudor Jones is buying bitcoin as a hedge against the inflation he sees coming as a result of unprecedented coronavirus and lockdown-induced central bank money-printing.

In a letter to clients, Jones said it reminded him of the role gold played in the 1970s.

"We think this could be a seminal moment for bitcoin," Freeman said in reaction to Jones' letter, which can be read in full here.

"Given the COVID-19 crisis and the easy money policies of major central banks, real money and macro investors are increasingly concerned about the value of traditional financial assets," Freeman said, adding, "we received several calls over the past week from institutional investors who now see bitcoin as a great hedge against the easy money policies and the looming global recession."

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Bitcoin Halving: Is Now When To Buy Bitcoin? - Forbes

Traders Say Binance Cut Their Bitcoin Shorts: Here’s Why It Happened – Cointelegraph

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

As the Bitcoin (BTC) price abruptly dropped from $9,500 to $8,100, some traders on Binance claimed that their winning short trades were unfairly cut short.

A trader named AthenaBank wrote on May 10:

Deleverage? Binance close my short after I make 7 times my investment. What's going on? Where is my short? The BTC dropped to $8,000. Who pays the difference?

But, the closure of the shorts was systematic and the process is called auto-deleveraging.

In the futures market, traders use debt or leverage to trade with larger capital. Binance, as an example, allows a trader to use 125x of their initial capital. If a user has $1,000, the user can trade with up to $125,000.

The role of a cryptocurrency exchange is to match orders between buyers and sellers. Hence, if trader A wants to short Bitcoin at $9,500, the role of the exchange is to find trader B that wants to buy BTC at the same price.

A problem occurs when the Bitcoin price sees an abrupt increase or decrease in price. More traders rush to short BTC, and as the price declines rapidly, it creates an imbalance in the orderbook.

When there is a big orderbook disparity, it can potentially cause a cascade of liquidations and cause the price of Bitcoin to plunge to abnormal prices. Such a price trend was seen on March 12, when the price of BTC crashed to as low as $3,600 on BitMEX.

Major Bitcoin futures exchanges like BitMEX and Binance Futures use a system called auto-deleveraging to ensure their orderbook remains balanced. When the insurance fund is not enough to cover for liquidations, then other trades are cut short to cover for the remaining liquidations.

Example of an auto-deleverage Bitcoin trade. Source: AthenaBank

Binance Futures says:

When a traders account size goes below 0, the Insurance Fund is used to cover the losses. However, in some exceptionally volatile market environments, the Insurance Fund may be unable to handle the losses, and open positions have to be reduced to cover them.

In such a case, highly leveraged trades are likely to have their trades sized down first. Traders that use 75 to 125x are often in the top percentile and are first to have their trades cut in abnormally volatile market conditions.

One trader explained:

There is a light for the auto deleverage queue on the trading page when you're in a position. Deleverage is used as insurance for long liquidation in this case to help sustain cascading liquidations and resulting in mega dumps. High leveraged trades are usually first.

Auto-deleveraging happens quite frequently in the cryptocurrency market because Bitcoin is significantly more volatile than most traditional assets.

The tendency of the price of Bitcoin to sway in a direction rapidly within a short period of time makes it challenging for exchanges to maintain balance in the market.

Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for a comment but did not receive a response by press time.

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Traders Say Binance Cut Their Bitcoin Shorts: Here's Why It Happened - Cointelegraph

The Market Perceives Positive Sentiment Heading Into the 2020 Bitcoin Halving – Cointelegraph

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

As Bitcoin (BTC) fast approaches its scheduled third halving, several metrics are now pointing toward positive market sentiment going into this most-anticipated event.

The perpetual funding rate serves as a useful indicator to gauge overall market sentiment. When the rate is positive, long positions periodically pay short positions and vice versa. Funding rates also tend to correlate with market sentiment, meaning that when the market is strongly bullish or bearish, funding rates tend to be positive or negative, respectively.

The perpetual funding rate turned extremely negative during the Black Thursday market crash and crept back up to near-positive territory following the market crash, but it faced difficulty breaking to the positive side. The funding rate has weakly broken to the positive side during the first week of May while the Bitcoin network is gearing toward the third halving.

Traders are consistently buying put options, as indicated by the putcall ratio rising since the market crash in mid-March and reaching a three-month high. Generally speaking, a rising putcall ratio indicates bearish sentiment in the options market. However, I hold the same perspective as Matt DSouza, a hedge fund manager at Blockchain Opportunity Fund, which is that a constantly rising putcall ratio could be interpreted as a bullish indicator, thus acting as a contrarian view that traders are bullish for Bitcoins price and are holding Bitcoin and buying put options as hedges and insurances rather than speculation. As DSouza said:

A rising put to call means many investors are buying downside protection. I love it as a contrarian indicator. So when put/call gets extreme or greater than usual, I actually get bullish because I take a contrarian position. I like to do the opposite of the herd. This is most importantly, take the other side for the most part when the ratios go too far in either direction.

The Bitcoin options flows can also confirm the belief that traders are buying options for the purpose of hedging, as there are more put buyers than put sellers in volume. If there is significant volume on the sell side, it reflects market participants concern about a potential market downturn.

The Spent Output Profit Ratio, or SOPR, has broken and stayed above 1 as the market recovers from the Black Thursday crash.

During March and April, values of SOPR above 1 were rejected, indicating a micro bear market. However, as the market approaches the May Bitcoin halving, we have seen SOPR values from the last week of April break 1 and reject going below 1.

People, in general, are much more comfortable selling when they are in profit. When the market sentiment turns positive, people are reluctant to sell at a loss, thus an SOPR below 1 is rejected.

As the world is fighting off the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also worth considering this global situation. We believe there is still significant market uncertainty ahead, especially going into the halving, which has coupled with that uncertainty.

The market data points toward a positive but relatively weak sentiment, possibly indicating the market is cautiously optimistic about the current market structure.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Johnson Xu is a devoted fintech professional with a background in finance and computer science and with substantial exposure to the cryptocurrency/blockchain industry. He is currently the chief analyst and leads research initiatives at TokenInsight, a company that provides investment research, ratings, data analysis, industry insights, investment management services, industry consulting, etc. His previous experience includes a global, top-tier cryptocurrency exchange and a Fortune 200 consulting company.

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The Market Perceives Positive Sentiment Heading Into the 2020 Bitcoin Halving - Cointelegraph

Bitcoin – Breakout In Progress – Seeking Alpha

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

After a great start into 2020, bitcoin (BTC-USD) crashed together with all other markets during the coronavirus panic. Now bitcoin has fully recovered from these dark moments in mid-March and on Friday crossed the $10,000 level once again. While central bankers around the world are quantitatively easing their fiat Ponzi schemes, bitcoin will experience its third quantitative hardening in just a few days....

In my last Bitcoin (BTC-USD) analysis, at a price around $6,700, I expected the recovery to continue until around $8,000. Indeed, this is what happened. However, for several weeks prices were just slowly creeping higher. Only once the downtrend line at $7,150 was crossed the bitcoin market finally began to move on 23rd of April. Since then, the bullish forces have clearly asserted themselves and most recently drove bitcoin to its highest level at $10,025 since mid of February. Bitcoin has thus made up for all the losses from the crash in mid-March and presents itself very strong compared to almost all other asset classes.

Holger Zschaepitz @Schuldensuehner, 5th of May 2020

In addition to the technical breakout above $7,150, the reasons for the sharp rally in recent weeks are mainly to be found in the upcoming bitcoin halving and the unprecedented global money supply expansions. The corona crisis has definitely changed the world. An infinite number of small and large companies as well as an army of millions of new unemployed are now completely dependent on public funding. At every corner there is overcapacity, reflecting the sick frenzy of the last decades. With their balance sheet measurements, central banks are already surpassing everything that has been seen before, but in the end they too will have to realize that wealth cannot be created with the mere printing of currency.

Holger Zschaepitz @Schuldensuehner, May 4th 2020

On the contrary, the dramatic increase in debt will sooner or later devalue the purchasing power of euros and dollars etc. to an extreme degree. The US Treasury Department, for example, is planning a new record borrowing of $3 trillion between April and June in order to be able to pay the enormous coronavirus costs. A further $677 billion is planned for the 3rd quarter. Last year, $1.28 trillion new debts were already made. In the end, it is the citizens and taxpayers who pay this bill.

Forward-thinking investors have therefore stormed into the safe haven of gold in recent weeks. In the case of bitcoin, despite its relative strength, there has so far been no real sign of a flight to safety. Instead, the crypto currency has correlated much more strongly with the stock markets in recent weeks than usual. However, since about two weeks bitcoin is literally on fire.

Bitcoin Weekly Chart as of May 8th 2020, Source: Tradingview

Since its low of just under $3,800 on March 12th, Bitcoin has risen by 160% to $10,025 in the last eight weeks. This V-shaped recovery is currently taking Bitcoin to the longstanding former uptrend line from below. The break of this trend line caused the crash to $3,800 two months ago. A direct breakout above this resistance was a surprise but has already happened. Another serious resistance has been the downward trend line of the last 10 months. Bitcoin jumped above this line without any problems just yesterday.

The now realizing best case scenario has some more room to go. The 61.8% retracement at around $10,050 and also the 78.6% retracement at $11,733 are realistic targets. Even a direct rally towards the horizontal resistance zone between $12,500 and $13,800 has become a possibility. The stochastic oscillator is not yet overbought and is therefore not opposing this bullish scenario.

In summary, the weekly chart is bullish since the end of March. No reversal signals have been detected yet. Rather, the bulls still have room to move up to around $13,000.

Bitcoin Daily Chart as of May 8th 2020, Source: Tradingview

On the daily chart, the concentrated resistance zone around $9,200 was obviously not a real obstacle. However, the chart is now overbought while bulls stretching the upper Bollinger Band. So far, there are no reversal signals yet and a continuation of the rally has the better prospects for the time being. Moreover, Bitcoin is known for its extreme movements, which often overrun many support or resistance zones in both directions. But of course, the risk/reward-ratio at the current level is extremely unfavorable for new long positions.

Overall the daily chart is still bullish, but also overbought. A continuation of the rally towards $11,000 and higher seems possible. But the round psychological number $10,000 could also see some profit taking and initiate a healthy pullback. Also, be aware that there is a looming bearish wedge developing. A pullback would already represent a good buying opportunity in the range between $7,500 and $7,700. In the short term, however, it is difficult to imagine larger price declines while halving is just a few days away.

Bitcoin CME Future CoT-report, Source: Barchart

Since the high on February 13th at just under $10,500, there have been significant shifts in the bitcoin futures market. The so-called "leveraged funds" were ideally positioned with an extraordinarily high short position for the crash in mid-March. Since the low below $4,000, this group of market participants has quickly started to cover their shorts and recently achieved an almost neutral position. In the latest price increase above $9,000, however, the "leveraged funds" have again slightly expanded their short position.

The subgroup of the so-called "Other Reportables" had distinguished itself with a very successful countercyclical approach over the past two years. This time, however, this group entered the correction rather procyclically with a high long position. In the meantime, however, a rather neutral position has also been achieved here.

Despite the wild movements, the current CoT report is again neutral. None of the trader groups is currently taking an extreme position. Noticeable is the significantly increased "open interest", which has more than doubled compared to the December lows.

Bitcoin Optix as of May 6th, 2020. Source: Sentimentrader

Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of May 6th, 2020. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index

Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of May 7th, 2020. Source: Crypto Fear & Greed Index

In the short term the mood for bitcoin seems a little bit too optimistic as the Bitcoin Optix of Sentimentrader has measured extreme values for the first time since mid-February. In the medium and longer term, however, no exaggeration can be detected in sentiment. Rather, the sophisticated "Fear & Greed Index" is still sitting in its neutral zone with a recent value of 49.

In summary, sentiment provides a warning signal in the very short term. However, in the bigger pictures the mood in the crypto world is far from being a big party, therefore any pullback in bitcoin should represent another buying opportunity. The "sentiment analysis module" thus produces the recommendation "buy the next dip".

Bitcoin seasonality. Source: Seasonax

Based on the evaluation of the last nine years, bitcoin has developed a fairly clear seasonal pattern, which certainly is a useful tool for general timing. In fact, this statistical pattern seems to be working quite well so far this year as bitcoin started a new wave up in mid of March. According to the seasonal pattern, this rally could extend into June, before a corrective wave would take place over the summer months.

The seasonal component has been favorable since the end of February and supports rising bitcoin prices into early summer.

Sound Money Bitcoin/Gold-Ratio as of May 4th, 2020. Source: Chaia

Currently, you have to pay 5.74 ounces of gold for one single bitcoin. In other words, one troy ounce of gold currently costs only 0.174 bitcoin. Based on the numbers, bitcoin has hardly moved against gold since the beginning of this year. Nevertheless, in the last four months there have been strong movements in favor of both, gold and bitcoin. At the moment bitcoin has the tailwind again and is heading for the downtrend line of the last two and a half years. If there is an upward breakout from the triangle formation, the crypto winter should definitely be over for good and bitcoin should begin its journey towards its all-time highs at $20,000.

Generally, buying and selling Bitcoin against gold only makes sense to the extent that one balances the allocation in the two asset classes! At least 10% and a maximum of 25% of one's total assets should be invested in precious metals physically, while in cryptos and especially in Bitcoin one should hold at least 1% and a maximum of 5%. If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can certainly allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin on an individual basis. For the average investor, who is normally also invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile bitcoin is already a lot!

From a spiritual point of view, think of bitcoin and gold as another expression of our dualistic world. As we have sun and moon, summer and winter, warm and cold all representing various forms of Yin and Yang, it also makes sense to have an analog safe haven (gold) and a digital safe haven (bitcoin) in the 21st century. You want to have both!

In the longer term, the events of the last two and a half months are without any doubt extremely bullish for bitcoin. A brutal wave of insolvencies could not only turn our economic world upside down, but also fundamentally change the entire financial system! The biggest stimuli ever seen from governments and central banks have already shaken confidence in the fiat money systems to their very foundations. More and more people are realizing that government and money must be separated and that fiat money systems are responsible for the unfair distribution of opportunities and the unrestrained and undisciplined waste of the planet's natural resources.

Holger Zschaepitz @Schuldensuehner, 5th of May 2020

In addition to this already bullish mixture, the 3rd bitcoin halving will happen in just a few days. The first two bitcoin Halvings were each followed by an extreme rally and increases of 10,000% and 2,500% within one to two years!

Tavi Costa @Crescant Capital, April 29th 2020

However, a further deflationary phase in the markets cannot yet be completely ruled out. In fact, the situation is far too complex to blindly bet on inflation and hyperinflation at this stage. Recently, central banks have significantly reduced their support measures, even though well over $50 trillion have been destroyed worldwide by the corona crash. At the same time the money supply expansions could be sufficient to send gold and bitcoin into the stratosphere. But another deflationary wave or crash in the equity markets would affect gold and bitcoin too. On top, Gold and bitcoin are overbought and don't deliver a good risk reward ratio in the short-term. Yes, any dip or pullback in these two markets needs to be bought!

Overall, Bitcoin is making a strong impression these days. The breakout above the two resistance lines seems indeed to be successful and prices have reached $10,000. From here, bitcoin only needs to double to reach its all-time high. Anyone who has studied bitcoin knows how quickly a 100% rise can happen.

Nevertheless it is important to proceed carefully and patiently. On the way up, there will always be setbacks and thus also buying opportunities. Such a one would already represent itself with a possible pullback towards $7,700 at any time.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BTC-USD.

See more here:
Bitcoin - Breakout In Progress - Seeking Alpha

Grayscale holds $3.7 billion and its nearly all Bitcoin – Decrypt

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin

In brief:

Digital asset manager Grayscale now boasts a total of $3.7 billion worth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several other cryptocurrencies under managementmarking an all-time high for the firm. These funds are held on behalf of its investors.

This latest update represents a $500 million increase in Grayscale's total AUM since its Q1 report published March 31, 2020. In fact, in a little under a year, Grayscale added $1 billion (37%) to its total assets under management (AUM), with the firm reporting $2.7 billion AUM in July 2019.

First arriving on the scene in 2013, with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the asset manager has amassed a huge amount of cryptocurrency since. Heavily focused on Bitcoin to begin with, the firm eventually diversified into several additional large-cap cryptocurrencies.

Yet Grayscale still retains the vast majority of today's holdings in its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which maintains $3.3 billion worth of Bitcointhe equivalent of 89.1% of total AUM.

As reported by Decrypt, Grayscale, along with Square's bitcoin payments processor, CashApp, bought up an amount of Bitcoin equivalent to half of all newly minted Bitcoin in Q1 of 2020.

A vast chunk of Grayscale's remaining allocated funds lies in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, with the second-largest cryptocurrency claiming $279 million, or 7.5% of Grayscale's AUM.

This institutional demand for ETH appears to be a growing trend. 2020 has been a particularly good year for the Ethereum Trust, with the firm boasting over $110 million in ETH inflows in the first quarter of 2020 alone. This is increasing at a much faster rate than the previous two years, which saw inflows at an average of $12 million per quarter.

But will investors be in it for the long run or is this all just a bet on the halving?

More here:
Grayscale holds $3.7 billion and its nearly all Bitcoin - Decrypt