Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in uncertain territory as $10,000 stays in place but fundamentals shift to bullish.

Cointelegraph highlights five things that could shape BTC price action in the coming days.

In what will likely become a frequently-quoted announcement, oil giant BP said this weekend that the world has hit peak demand for the black gold.

In a report quoted by Bloomberg, BP said that demand for oil would stay broadly flat for the next twenty years, with pressure coming from alternative fuels and coronavirus.

It subsequently recovers but never back to pre-Covid levels, Spencer Dale, the firms chief economist said.

It brings forward the point at which oil demand peaks to 2019.

Macro asset year-to-date returns. Source: Skew

The startling admission is yet another surprise to come out of the global economy, at the same time as central banks admit that unconventional monetary policy has become the norm in 2020.

With coronavirus at the helm and lockdown returning to at least one country on Monday, Bitcoin looks poised to benefit from oil and fiat currency weakness, as before.

As Cointelegraph reported, previous extreme volatility in the price of certain oil assets allowed BTC to shine as a hedge against losses.

Another week, another meeting for the United States Federal Reserve and a chance for safe havens to capitalize on its policy shifts.

On Wednesday, the Fed will outline how it plans to implement economic measures which will impact inflation something which previously sparked dollar weakness.

Maintaining a policy status quo in this context would be akin to throwing in a towel, which would undermine the credibility of the new framework right out of the gate, Aneta Markowska, chief financial economist at Jefferies told MarketWatch on Monday.

Any actions from the Fed could weigh on the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) once again, something to which Bitcoin has shown significant inverse correlation since July.

Gold markets are already considering the likelihood of a shake-up, analysts say, betting on the Fed putting itself in an increasingly difficult position. The precious metal has formed a golden triangle and is ripe for a breakout.

For Bitcoin, its all about DXY a reversal of recent strength at the beginning of September would be a clear bull signal. Conversely, continued gains would likely keep selling pressure at $10,500 intact.

DXY 2-month chart. Source: TradingView

The coronavirus crisis is many times more destructive than the financial crisis of 2008, Steve Barrow, head of forex strategy at Standard Bank, meanwhile summarized to Bloomberg.

Theres every reason to believe that the move to tighter monetary policy will take as long - and probably much longer -- than the post-financial-crisis period.

In terms of central bank policy specifically, this year is seeing a seismic change similar to oil demand.

With Bitcoin as an antidote to central bank meddling with the money supply, any further devaluation in fiat is only to be welcomed by BTC proponents looking for a safety net.

Global central bankers are discovering that monetary policies they once viewed as unconventional and temporary are now proving to be conventional and long-lasting, Bloomberg summarized about the situation worldwide.

According to data from the publication, major central banks are employing crisis policies in 2020 that they have never used before.

As RT host Max Keiser often comments on his show, The Keiser Report, nothing is as permanent as temporary fiscal policy from a central bank.

Within Bitcoin, however, the future looks decidedly rosy. Hash rate a measure of how much computing power miners have decided to dedicate to validating transactions has broken out to hit yet another all-time high.

On Monday, data from Blockchain shows, the seven-day average hash rate stood at 135 exahashes per second (EH/s).

Bitcoin 7-day average hash rate 2-month chart. Source: Blockchain

Hash rate strength underscores miners continued faith in Bitcoins long-term profitability. Difficulty, perhaps the most essential measure of blockchain health, is set for a 5.4% increase this week something which will send it, too, to record highs.

Commenting on the general situation, Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michal van de Poppe suggested that zooming out was all that was needed for a bullish take on Bitcoin.

If you'd like to compare periods and market cycles, the current state of the market is comparable to 2016, he tweeted on Monday.

Slow upwards grind, with long sideways consolidation periods. In 2016, several were seen. In 2020, 2021, it's likely we'll see that too. Bullish.

Cryptocurrency commentators are also eyeing moves by stablecoin Tether (USDT) as a pointer for BTC price trajectory.

Specifically, Tethers burgeoning market cap, passing $15 billion in recent days, has historically spurred Bitcoin gains.

Bitcoin tether printer divergence. This story always seems to end the same way, analyst Cole Garner tweeted, highlighting how previous increases in the USDT supply positively impacted Bitcoin.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, stablecoin holders, including those of USDT, appeared keen to snap up cheap BTC at prices around $10,000.

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Fed, oil and record hash rate: 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week - Cointelegraph

On September 16, the Bitcoin Unlimited development team launched a new application called Votepeer. The software is powered by the Bitcoin Cash network and allows anyone to set up a transparent two-option voting process.

This week a couple of Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) developers released a new voting protocol called Votepeer. BU software engineers, Dagur and Jrgen Svennevik Notland, revealed the initial version of Votepeer, which can be located at the website voter.cash.

Votepeer is powered by Bitcoin Cash and allows anyone to easily set up a two-option vote using the simple and transparent voting protocol, the project announcement details. Participating, verifying, and tallying can be done through the SPV (Simple Payment Verification) technology in use in most bitcoin cash wallets and therefore does not require a full node.

The announcement published on the bitcoin cash (BCH) powered blogging platform read.cash, explains that the new release concludes the initial phase of BUIP129. During the second phase, BU developers will study more in order to make anonymous voting possible.

The third phase of the project is to build the technology into an easy-to-use app and release it publicly for general use, the announcement notes.

Hopefully, we can make online elections safer, Jrgen Svennevik Notland said. We are currently in research and development mode, open-sourcing our tools and apps as they mature, and a paper. Our current research item is to figure out how to make the election process in the two-option Voterpeer smart-contract anonymous.

The developer also detailed that individuals who are interested in contributing to Votepeer can reach out via Keybase.io. The engineers also said that the team released voter.cash now so the project can locate partners who will benefit from this type of voting technology.

We look forward to all the interesting ways the cryptocurrency community can use this technology to supercharge their governance processes, the BU devs concluded.

On social media and crypto oriented forums, BCH proponents seemed to like the Voterpeer project and the blockchain voting concept. The release comes 47 days prior to the U.S. Presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on November 3. Already, thanks to the vast number of mail-in ballots this year due to Covid-19, many Americans think the vote will be an utter calamity.

A few members of the BCH community discussed governments leveraging a platform that utilizes blockchain technology. Meanwhile, a few other crypto supporters recommended ideas to the BU team that could allow the protocol to execute building out a multi-choice voting process.

What do you think about the Votepeer project released by BU software developers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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Bitcoin Unlimited Launches Two-Option Voting App Powered by Bitcoin Cash | Technology - Bitcoin News

Youve probably seen the comic posted in one of the many online crypto communities; an adaptation of a popular Reddit meme. A jolly little character offers up two games, one adventurous, the other challenging.

His friend asks about a third option.

When you play that game, the first little guy replies, days will blur together. Regular meals are a thing of the past. Friends will become concerned. And the whole time youll be unsure if youre even having fun.

That third game is, of course, Bitcoin.

That comic is familiar to those of us in the crypto industry. From traders staying up until the early hours, to crypto journalists working day and night to cover the fast-growing space, we all relate to it and thats why it makes us laugh.

But what is it about Bitcoin that initially grabs us and sends us down the rabbit hole? Why do these lines of code reach out of the computer screen, grab our imaginations and pull us in?

During four interviews, with diehard Bitcoiners, Decrypt identified some common traits: a dislike for authority, with a political stance that leans towards libertarianism. But while they revel in Bitcoins attributes as a hedge against inflation, or its security, it wasnt those factors that initially drew them in. Rather, it was the moment they first used Bitcoin or were able to visualise it, that flicked a subliminal switch. So, while the current narratives are important, what gets us obsessed with Bitcoin is something a little more intimate.

On a day in September 2015, David Bennett, senior administrator at the Texas Tech University, felt confined.

He was at work in his cubicle, lit by a lamp instead of the overhead fluorescent lights that were never turned on. The office was so buried in the middle of the gray, chunky concrete building that was the universitys library, he couldnt even hear it when it rainedan event that, in the southern end of the High Plains desert landscape, would typically bring everyone running to the windows.

Bennett looked at his monitor. He was just about to send 0.2 Bitcoin, worth $80, from his Coinbase account to Jack Spirko of the Survival Podcast, so he could become a member. He had heard about Bitcoin online a few years ago, but it was only from listening to these podcasts that he was starting to learn more. He popped in Spirkos address and hit send.

It quickly dawned on him that there were so many things he hadnt done. He hadnt put in his bank account details, his home address, his telephone number. He hadnt authorised someone to take payments from his account. There would be no phoning the bank up to complain that further scam payments had been taken from his account. That was it, done.

He felt liberated.

That started the whole trip down the rabbit hole, he told Decrypt. I sat back. I didnt say anything then, but later told my co-workers about Bitcoin.

Bennett soon became a regular listener of Bitcoin educator Andreas Antonopoulos as well as Trace Mayers weekly Bitcoin Knowledge podcast. Finding himself ill-content with just one podcast episode every week, he set up his own called Bitcoin and where he discusses news on a daily basis.

To this day, he continues to maintain that Bitcoin is a weapon, but, in the words of Parallax Digital CEO Robert Breedlove, one for peace.

It was a cold day in late October, 2019, when Phil Gibson, a software salesman, drove home for his lunch hour. His friend had convinced him to buy a range of altcoins, such as the Brave browsers Basic Attention Token and business-focused Syscoin, on crypto exchange Binance. Only the friend had warned him to get a VPN first.

Standing at the kitchen table with his laptop out, Gibson tried paying for NordVPN. But his debit card refused to work, flagging an error message. He tried his credit card. Still no dice. He got on the phone to his bank, to find out what was going on. While he was waiting on hold, it dawned on him that it was probably to do with what he was buying. The customer service assistant came back on and confirmed his suspicions.

Gibson was angry that the bank was banning him from spending his money how he wanted. He ignored the idea of calling his local branch and looked for another way. He noticed the VPN provider accepted Bitcoin, so he took out CashApp, bought Bitcoin and paid for the VPN directly.

Once I saw that it worked, it was just amazing, he said. Bitcoin is FU moneyits a hell of a drug.

While he had heard about Bitcoin in 2017 during its epic run to $20,000, this was the moment he truly understood its value. It slotted straight into his libertarian-leaning beliefs and he started binging Bitcoin information, such as the Bitcoin audible podcast by Guy Swann.

But there was one thing about Bitcoin thatunlike the fiat money he had in his bank accountreally resonated with him.

Its mine, he said. Even if I sound like Gollum.

Economics student Marty Bent was sitting alone in the library of DePaul University in Chicago, one evening in the summer of 2012. Outside of his evening classes, he had spent the day working at a managed futures fund where he wrote almost exclusively about central banks and monetary policy. With his anti-authority bent, it was clear to him that governments were getting it all wrong.

I was pretty glued to what the central banks were doing for three to four years. In the depths of QE2, QE3, Operation Twist, I quickly learned the central banks didnt really have any idea of what they were doing, he said, referring to examples of quantitative easing and bond buying by the Federal Reserve.

In that moment, he wasnt studying for his economics lessons the next evening, nor was he preparing for the next days commentary at his day job. Instead, he was on BitcoinTalk, poring over everything there was to know about Bitcoin.

Bent said, I was reading up on Bitcoin and getting a better understanding of the technology and the monetary policies behind itand it sort of clicked.

Bent soon started making Twitter lists of prominent Bitcoiners to keep track of what was going on. In the winter of 2013, he used his bonus check to buy his first Bitcoin for $800. Soon after that, it shot up to $1,200 and, driven by the feeling of euphoria, he was suddenly telling his coworkers all about it.

Bent now writes a daily newsletter called Marty's ent and is host of the Tales from the Crypt podcast. Both of which are focused, as you might expect, on Bitcoin.

In early 2017, Robert Breedlove was in his home office in Las Vegas, reading a paper on his iMac. Breedlove was a libertarian who had long wondered about moneywhat it was, and why governments had a monopoly on it. He had read a book called The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, and one Christmas, he had even handed out copies of an abridged versioncalled Dishonest Moneyto his family.

So, its unsurprising that, at that very moment, he was reading Nick Szabos explanation of smart contracts, a technology for coding agreements between two parties. Breedlove had known about Bitcoin for several years but it was at this moment, when he finally got what it was for.

When i read Nick Szabos work on smart contractswhich was actually written in the late 90sthat was when I had my lightbulb moment, he said. Oh my gosh, this whole finance industry is basically this intermediate function that could be disrupted by smart contracts.

It was Szabos example of a vending machine that struck him. A canonical real-life example, which we might consider to be the primitive ancestor of smart contracts, is the humble vending machine, Szabo wrote.

At that moment, Breedlove could visualize how Bitcoin or Ethereum could play the part of the vending machine, removing the need for the legacy finance industrywhile rivalling state-backed fiat currencies. Thats when I realised that the tech was really going to be a big deal, he said.

He soon came to believe that it was Bitcoin that had the strongest foundation to disrupt the concept of money. After reading The Bitcoin Standard, by Saifedean Ammous, he devoured books by economists Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard and Friedrich Hayek. He went on to become the CEO of Parallax Digital, which invests in Bitcoin-focused products, and has written a 62-tweet-long thread that sheds light on Bitcoin in an exoteric nutshell.

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Why We Get Obsessed With Bitcoin - Decrypt

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --In Redefining the Future of the Economy: Governance Blocks and EconomicArchitecturethe authorsreveal what the first generations ofblockchainare missing. Norman Augustine, distinguished engineer and former Lockheed Martin CEO, states:"Your book is fascinating the way it moves from economics to governance to mathematics to philosophy to poetry."

Futurist George Gilder, author of Life After Google: the Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy, Wealth and Poverty, Microcosm, Telecosm, Life After Television, and the Silicon Eye, writes: "[Redefining the Future of the Economy] is a just-in-time blockbusting chain-reactive manifesto for a revolutionary second generation of blockchain for finance. If you are involved with the Cryptocosm, or with finance, or with artificial intelligence, you have to read it. . Talbot, a super savvy investment strategist, and Benko, a paladin of money theory, actually know why the movement is bogging down and how to fix it."

They prescribe the missing ingredients: Layering consensus algorithms for the creation of sophisticated financial systems and using combinatorial mathematics to provide an organizational structure bringing order to the autonomous chaos of AI, providing accountability and regulatory compliance.

Dawn Talbotis a Wall Street veteraninstitutional research analyst, corporate finance professional, and portfolio manager. Ralph Benko is a Washington insider, aReagan White House deputy general counsel and former senior counselor to the blockchain sector's trade association.The book is available from Amazon and we offer complimentary review copies to journalists and thought leaders. The authors are available for interviews to discuss their breakthrough findings.

Contact: Ralph Benko [emailprotected] 202.800.6550

SOURCE Tevoro.com

http://www.Tevoro.com

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Tevoro.com Announces New Book Revealing What's Missing from Bitcoin, Ethereum and Other Cryptocurrencies - PRNewswire

ENCINITAS, Calif., Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Glen Oaks Escrow, one of Southern California's largest independent escrow companies, recently announced that it closed its second Bitcoin transaction.

The organization shared that the homebuyer contacted the Glen Oaks Escrow office in San Diego to inquire about using Bitcoin after hearing about previous Bitcoin transactions that were administered within the organization.

"We're thrilled that our organization has closed another transaction with Bitcoin. We made the decision in 2018 to start accepting Bitcoin payments, and we are glad that we did, given that consumers see the value and are taking advantage of this payment method. This transaction exemplifies that, while a young technology in our industry, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies have the potential to become a bigger part of real estate transactions. And, given the current economic climate, some experts are predicting that real estate, gold, and Bitcoin will perform strongly over the long-term. We look forward to being there for our clients and are very proud to be at the forefront to enable transactions in this way," shared Joe Curtis, COO of Glen Oaks Escrow.

Glen Oaks Escrow accepts Bitcoin payments through BitPay, which acts as the payment processor in the transaction and is used to verify the funds. The escrow company then sends out an invoice to the buyer, similar to wire instructions in a fiat currency transaction.

The buyer then has a fixed window of time to remit payment using Bitcoin or another accepted cryptocurrency. The funds go to escrow through BitPay, which converts the Bitcoin into cash and wires US Dollars into the escrow account. In summary, BitPay takes the Bitcoin and converts it to cash for the seller, so the seller never actually sees the Bitcoin payment, just the cash.

"While some people and companies are still trying to understand how cryptocurrencies fit into the real estate industry, we continue to see the growth of usage in other markets. From Crypto Startup Schoolsto large banks getting involved with cryptocurrencies, we are confident that this new way of doing business will increase in our industry. We're proud to be paving the way for this technology," explained Curtis.

About Glen Oaks Escrow

Glen Oaks Escrow is part of the Pango Group, a family of companies that include American Trust Escrow, CV Escrow, Escrow Trust Advisors, AV Escrow, VOI Insurance Solutions, and Document Archive Solutions.

Pango Group has been one of the leading independent escrow resources in California for over 20 years with locations from Los Angeles to Orange County to the Coachella Valley and San Diego and owns and manages over 30 offices and 300 employees.

The company's mission of running exceptional real estate service businesses that enhance the lives of the people, partners, and communities we serve has been an integral part of its success. It was recently named one of the Best Places to Work for the 5th year in a row in Los Angeles.

CONTACT:Lucia Asbury(760) 697-9146[emailprotected]

SOURCE Glen Oaks Escrow

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Glen Oaks Escrow Announces It Assisted With Yet Another Bitcoin Transaction - PRNewswire

Bitcoin (BTC) is getting its best advertisement once more as another major central bank floats the idea of charging people to save their money.

As Bloomberg reported quoting minutes of a meeting held Thursday, the Bank of England (BoE) has become the latest central bank to discuss negative interest rates.

According to the results of the meeting, the BoE will enter discussions with banking regulators over negative rates, which effectively mean lending institutions, and, hence, savers must pay to store cash.

The reason is the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the economy, along with the looming prospect of Brexit, deal or no deal.

The bank is leaving all options on the table, due to elevated uncertainty, one analyst told the publication in light of the news.

The pound slid against major currencies Thursday, as policymakers further confirmed that they had voted to keep interest rates at 0.1% for the time being.

Bank of England balance sheet chart (GBP). Source: TradingEconomics/ Bank of England

Bitcoin proponents immediately seized on the BoEs troubles, arguing that such a policy simply undermined both fiat currencys reputation and its own position.

Wow, the Bank of England discussing negative interest rates. If they adopt this, they would be paying you to borrow, Tyler Winklevoss wrote on Twitter.

You couldnt buy a better advertisement for Bitcoin but u can take their money and go long bitcoin.

Veteran trader Tone Vays had similar thoughts.

I don't think any Bank would pay you to borrow but they will charge you to store/save your money at the Bank, what more can a Bitcoin Hodler as for! he said, responding to Winklevoss.

Thanks Bank of England, you will help drive $BTC adoption.

Others took aim at the interim interest rate decision.

One of the most important prices in our society is determined by vote, Christopher Bendiksen, head of research at digital asset investment strategist Coinshares, tweeted.

You read that right. In 2020, 8 middle-aged men and one woman literally come together several times a year to determine the price of credit. This will seem unbelievably archaic to our descendants.

As Cointelegraph reported, the BoE is particularly infamous in Bitcoin circles, the United Kingdom government bailing out the banking sector en masse on the eve of Bitcoins birth in 2009. An article from the national newspaper, The Times, was even included in the Bitcoin genesis block.

More recently, central banks reactions to coronavirus have fuelled the idea that Bitcoin will increasingly function as a hedge against fiat.

This week, the United States Federal Reserve fielded queries about its plans to overshoot inflation targets, a process that would weaken the U.S. dollar and provide a likely further boost to safe havens such as gold and Bitcoin.

For its part, the BoE had said that negative interest rates would be damaging to the U.K. economy as recently as last month.

The European Central Bank, or ECB, has administered negative rates since 2016, but such a move would be a historical first for the U.K.

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Bank of England talks negative interest rates in best ad for Bitcoin - Cointelegraph