XRP saw some intense bullishness over the past week, with the cryptocurrency clocking some major gains in the early part of the week while Bitcoin and the aggregated crypto market faced some bearish turbulence.

This bearishness in the aggregated market proved to be fleeting, however, and the quick turnaround allowed XRP to climb even further until it reached critical resistance between $0.28 and $0.29.

Analysts are now noting that the crypto could be just a matter of weeks away from its next major upwards push, which could be fueled by serious fomo from retail investors.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading down just over 1% at its current price of $0.277, which marks a slight decline from its daily highs of $0.285 that were set yesterday.

It is important to note that overnight the cryptocurrency did face some downwards pressure, which came about in tandem with the drops seen by Bitcoin and most other major altcoins.

This sharp yet fleeting selloff led the token to drop to as low as $0.268, but buyers quickly absorbed the intense selling pressure and led the crypto back into the $0.27 region.

It is important to note that XRP is currently nearing the spring phase of a bullish Wyckoff accumulation pattern, which means that the next several months could lead the crypto to see some intense upwards momentum.

TraderXO, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, spoke about this pattern in a recent tweet, explaining that he is waiting for XRP to push away from its yearly open before increasing his position size.

XRP Patiently waiting for XRP to retest the yearly open and push away before adding further size. So far going to plan! he explained.

One near-term possibility is that the cryptocurrency will rally up towards $0.33 before finding itself caught within an intense fomo-fueled rally that leads the token significantly higher.

The Cryptomist, a prominent crypto analyst on Twitter, spoke about this in a recent tweet, telling her followers that she believes that XRP will see some intense momentum in the coming few weeks and months.

XRP: Target of 33 cents remains the latest resistance region. Personally, I do feel in the next few weeks/months we see some serious fomo into this coin, she noted.

How the crypto trends in the coming few days could offer insight into just how likely this type of massive rally is.

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XRP Could Be Weeks Away from a Major Breakout Despite Overnight Rejection - newsBTC

Feb 09, 2020 at 10:19 // News

Forks are tools employed by blockchain and DLT networks to increase blockchain execution and run the protocol. These are generally distributed into Soft Fork and Hard Fork (hardfork).

A Soft Fork is realized and implemented by creating a modernized version of the DLT protocol compatible with earlier versions. The Soft Fork puts in place a reversible change that enables contribution in the DLT network even to all those nodes that for various reasons decide not to upgrade.

A Hard Fork introduces irreversible change and needs blockchain nodes to create the upgrade mandatorily. With Hard Fork, new cryptocurrencies are formed as in the past, for example, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) cases or zcash and Litecoin (LTC).

Hard Forks can be Planned and Scheduled, or Contentious, which means they can't find community consent.

Regarding Contentious hard forks, the proposed modification to the protocol does not reach an agreement within the community and with the Hardfork we come to a type of blockchain splitting. A Contentious Hard Fork leads to the establishment of a new coin.

Regarding planned Hard Forks, the protocol change is planned and the transition is approved by community participants. A Planned Hard Fork is not leading to the splitting of the DLT and the rules are rationalized in the formula of continuity.

The reasons which can lead to a Hardfork are different but can be summarized in some places:

One of the themes that leads the blockchain community to face a fork is scalability. For example, regarding the DLT net, the starting point is a DLT created to process transactions every ten minutes. A time closely associated with the amount of transactions and the number of users. In the second half of 2017 there was an exponential increase in registrations due to a very strong increase in the spread of the currency. This "demand" has also resulted in a slowdown in the time of consolidation of consolidation of blocks consolidation on the DLT.

And let's get to the Forks, which is the subject of the division between the developer family who want to maintain the traditional blockchain structure and developers who want to increase the volume of locks and transactions, trying to make the recordings faster. This contrast has generated some forks of the DLT and the emergence of new virtual currencies originating from Bitcoin blockchain (like BCH and BTC).

But it should not be forgotten that each new separation of the blockchain also determines the risk of a possible centralization in the running of the blockchain itself and thus of weakening the trust mechanism, that is, a trust that is directly proportional to the number of nodes in the DLT network.

If you assume that, for the Miner, the chances of winning the Proof of Work are directly proportional to the computing capacity you have, you notice that the Bitcoin blockchain is exposed to an imbalance risk in favor of those who may have greater computing power or, in other respects, can access more computing capacity at more affordable costs. In these cases, for example, the purpose of remediation is to define protocol-level innovations that will lower the importance of computing capacity in the resolution of Proof of Work, that is, by trying to reduce the risks of concentration of the Miners.

The subject of performance and scalability has always accompanied the development of blockchain tech. BTC's ability to process transactions compares to time limits of less than 10 transactions per second. Among the themes of the community is that we have a protocol that can improve these performances. Among the "streets" is to increase the block size, which is to double the amount of dealings in each block.

Interventions on the DLT protocol are also intended to run the DLT ecosystem, or the set of rules and balances that underlie the blockchain's own view. Among the themes is the controlling of the Forks itself and to the precision of the Hardforks that leading the community to face real splits poses a theme of protecting the overall value of the ecosystem and, directly, also a theme of shared rules, of distributed and shared governance for Bitcoin.

Read more:
Definition of a Cryptocurrency Fork; Why Are They Necessary? - Coin Idol

Bitcoin may have surged bombastically heading into 2020 but one analyst thinks the cryptocurrency is going to fall back.

Options trader Dyme said bitcoin is entering a perfect bearish setup, listing three converging negative indicators that hint a deep price retracement in the coming trading sessions. They are Rising Wedge, Bearish Divergence, and Overleveraged Longs.

Everything about [the setup] screams short, added Dyme.

In retrospect, each indicator typically leads to a price drop in an otherwise booming asset. Rising Wedge, for instance, appears if any asset trends upward, creating higher highs and higher lows, creating a conical pattern. But it breaks out to the downside upon reaching the apex of the diagram.

Bitcoin moving inside the red Rising Wedge pattern | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase

In its decade-old existence, bitcoin has broken down from Rising Wedge patterns on several occasions. That allowed Dyme to predict a similar scenario in the current cryptocurrency uptrend.

Similarly, Bearish Divergence also predicts a potential reversal in a bull market. The formation occurs when an asset makes higher highs but its momentum indicator (such as a Relative Strength Index) makes lower highs.

On bitcoins daily chart, there is merely a hint of divergence, with the RSI tops almost leveled equally among each other. On lower timeframes, however, the momentum indicator is making lower highs against bitcoins higher high formations. It fits the description of a potential trend reversal.

A set of bitcoins trade statistics shows that the cryptocurrency might be overleveraged at this point in time. While Dyme merely mentioned it, his fellow analyst Cantering Clark gave evidence of risky Long positions in the market, citing its funding rate, open interest, and futures premium.

I think the market is likely due to punishing late longs soon, the analyst wrote Thursday. The market is likely very long right now, as it should be, with the trend.

Clark stated that the next pullback could cause a $700-1,000 drop in the bitcoin price, adding:

We havent seen any major divergences in delta overall toward this recent high. If anything, I suspect a roll over / fall under own weight i.e. Cascade of stops and liquidations.

Alex Krger, a prominent market analyst, also noticed a pullback pattern brewing on BitMEX. He found that the funding rate on the derivatives platform had lately touched 0.12 percent that historically sends the bitcoin prices lower.

Source: Alex Krger

The boxplot shows what happens with bitcoins price when Bitmex funding reaches levels as extreme as todays, said Krger. Bitmex funding can be used as a proxy for traders positioning. The mean return after 5 days has been -7%.

See more here:
Three Reasons Why Bitcoin is Bearish, Explains Analyst - newsBTC

by Ian | Feb 7, 2020 | Bitcoin, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash, Cool, Cryptocurrency, DASH, Economic Freedom, International, News, Update |

Anypaymap.com shows the most active crypto-accepting businesses in the area.

With her new business, EuPHOria, the founding chef of Keenes Pho Keene Great, Isabelle Rose, has struck out on her own and is now regularly meeting customers in Keene with hot Vietnamese food cooked-to-order. Another recent addition is Pure Bliss Clean, a professional cleaning service that handles home and small businesses. Also, Kenzy Dietz of KD Prestige Detailing recently won Monadnock Cryptos radio giveaway contest on 92.7 Bratt FM and decided to set up Anypay Cash Register shortly thereafter. Dietz had already been introduced to cryptocurrency by someone close to her and was elated to be the winner of the $500-worth-of-crypto giveaway. When asked what her reasons were for accepting cryptocurrency at her car detailing business, Dietz said, Cryptocurrency is the currency of the future, so I am delighted to be a local business that accepts it as payment. Not only is it easy to accept, but its a great way to broaden my businesses acceptance of alternatives to paying with just cash, checks, or debit. The future is coming.

You can read the full article over on the Monadnock Crypto blog here.

Continued here:
Keene Solidifies Position as Global Leader in Cryptocurrency Acceptance with Three More Businesses Onboard in January! - Free Keene

The U.S. Federal Reserve is experimenting with blockchain technology to establish potential use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Feds Governor Lael Brainard said this in a recent speech, but she also noted that risks still exist, and they have to be addressed before launching a digital currency.

As reported by Reuters, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard recently mentioned the countrys potential involvement in central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. According to her, the U.S. central bank is researching the feasibility of issuing a digital currency.

We are conducting research and experimentation related to distributed ledger technologies and their potential use case for digital currencies, including the potential for a CBDC.

We are collaborating with other central banks as we advance our understanding for central bank digital currencies.

Cryptopotato recently reported that a survey from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) regarding the emerging trend of CBDCs. The findings were that 80% of all participating banks are working on launching their own digital currency.

Brainard also noted the extreme competition in the field and added that there are a set of reasons to also be making sure that we are the frontier of both research and policy development.

Interestingly enough, less than two years ago, Brainard appeared extremely against the idea of launching a CBDC. Aside from all regulatory hurdles that she mentioned, Feds Governor also indicated that there is no compelling demonstrated need for a Fed-issued digital currency.

Now, though, the situation has changed dramatically as she referred to Facebooks plans to launch its own cryptocurrency Libra. Brainard said that ever since it was announced last year, it brought imparted urgency around the digital currency topic.

The Governor believes that projects similar to Libra could deliver additional risks, which need to be addressed before the product is live:

Some of the new players are outside the financial systems regulatory guardrails, and their new currencies could pose challenges in areas such as illicit finance, privacy, financial stability, and monetary policy transmission. according to Brainard.

Ultimately, she seemed more optimistic regarding the positive benefits of digital currencies, and concluded that by transforming payments, digitization has the potential to deliver greater value and convenience at a lower cost. Despite Facebook intentions, the Libra project may not come alive, according to Facebook itself.

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USA Is Looking Closely To Launching Its Own Cryptocurrency, According To Fed Governor Lael Brainard - CryptoPotato