Traders are ecstatic as the cryptocurrency markets finally recover from the recent crash of March 12 amid the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At that time, Bitcoin (BTC) and the altcoins shredded all the profits they have amassed since the start of the year, leaving many in bearish sentiment.

However, with the current surge, the price levels in the market have returned to the same ones in February, when Bitcoin traded above $9,200. BTC is leading the bull run, posting massive gains of up to 10.34% against the USD in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading in the $9,000 area.

As Bitcoins increasing in its USD value, so is its dominance, which currently stands at 65.7%, suggesting that altcoins are losing grounds. Indeed, alternative cryptocurrencies are all bleeding against Bitcoin as the entire market is painted red.

While almost all altcoins are posting massive gains against the USD, they are being crushed against BTC as Bitcoin dominance continues to surge higher. In the top 100 altcoin markets, only two cryptocurrencies are trading at profits against Bitcoin in todays trading session.

Siacoin (SC) and Streamr DATAcoin (DATA) are the only two major altcoins in the market that surpassed Bitcoins RIO today. In the USD market, the bull run saw both coins trading higher at 28.96% and 48.89%, respectively. In the BTC market, SC is posting gains of 11.33% while DATA is 29.14% green.

Being the only altcoins trading at profits against Bitcoin in the market is a great feat for both Siacoin and Streamr projects.

While Siacoin offers an open-source, low-cost solution for cloud storage for users across a decentralized network of peers, Streamr is an open-source infrastructure for real-time data based on the Ethereum blockchain.

The Sia project recently announced the launch of a blockchain infrastructure designed for the Italian Banking Association (ABI). Founded in 1919, the ABI will use Sias blockchain infrastructure to enable its Spunta Banca DLT application.

Collaborating with one of Italys oldest banking associations is, no doubt, a milestone for Sia as it gives the project more exposure. By May 2020, around 55 Italian banks are expected to adopt the new SIAchain-based management process for reconciling reciprocal accounts among banks in the country.

Streamr, on the other hand, had its native currency DATAcoin (DATA) added to the worlds largest crypto exchange, Binance, for two new trading pairs. Binance announced that it had added support for DATA/USDT and DATA/BUSD trading pairs on its platform. The exchange launched an airdrop worth 3 million DATAcoin tokens ($150,000) to celebrate the addition of the new pairs.

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These Are The Only 2 Cryptocurrencies That Beat Bitcoins ROI Today - CryptoPotato

ZURICH, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the global industry organization that advances Bitcoin SV, announces it has become a non-profit association (Verein) in Switzerland. The Association supports Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) because it is the only project adhering to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto's original protocol, design and vision for Bitcoin to become a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and global data ledger for enterprise.

The initial Voting Members of the new Association are: CoinGeek (entrepreneur Calvin Ayre's multi-faceted Bitcoin mining, media and investment business); nChain (the leading global blockchain technology company where Bitcoin creator Dr. Craig S. Wright is Chief Scientist); TAAL Distributed Information Technologies, Inc., a publicly-traded Canadian company involved in blockchain transaction processing (mining) and infrastructure; and Jimmy Nguyen, global advocate for Bitcoin SV and the Association's Founding President.

The Association's Executive Committee consists of: President Jimmy Nguyen; Vice President Steve Shadders, CTO of nChain; Calvin Ayre, Founder of CoinGeek; Stefan Matthews, Chairman of TAAL; and Jodok Wicki, a partner at the CMS von Erlach Poncet Ltd. law firm in Zurich, Switzerland and counsel to the Association.

Under its previous structure, the Bitcoin Association grew to approximately 1500 members from over 65 countries including enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners) and others in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. The new Association will transition to a new membership structure, with Voting Members, Non-Voting members and Affiliates, in order to better serve the differing interests across its broad range of constituents. Information about participation options for 2020, which will serve as a transitional year, as well as details about future years will be communicated to all members of the previous organization structure.

Bitcoin Association's Founding President Jimmy Nguyen commented on the move, saying: "As I have said before, it is time for Bitcoin to grow up. That means that the industry, especially its technology development, business infrastructure, and regulatory oversight, need to mature. This also means that our own organization needs to take steps forward in its maturity. Switzerland is a renowned global capital for finance, technology and digital currency. It is an ideal base for our global association, as we lead the maturation of the entire Bitcoin industry and significantly increase our international activities to advance Bitcoin SV. We also expect more exciting BSV developments to happen in Switzerland as a result of this move."

Interest in Bitcoin Association has rapidly grown as Bitcoin SV has captured the digital currency spotlight. The BSV blockchain has seen application development explode globally as developers and businesses make use of BSV's superior scaling, data and micropayments capacities. Growing usage has led BSV's daily network transactions and average block size counts to regularly surpass BTC and even surpass the Ethereum network on some days.

To further accelerate BSV's growth, the Bitcoin Association has an ambitious agenda for 2020 and beyond. This includes work to support the underlying BSV technical infrastructure; standards setting with a new Technical Standards Committee; host and sponsor Bitcoin SV business conferences, programs and events around the world; launch a developer training curriculum, Developer Conferences ("BSV DevCons") and workshops; conduct global media work in multiple languages; and policy work with government bodies to encourage responsible usage of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

Bitcoin Association's efforts are truly global. To carry out its work, the organization has built an international team, including staff in Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, United States, and United Kingdom. They are supported by Bitcoin Association Global Ambassadors in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Panama, Russia and CIS region, the Scandinavia region, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, and the United States.

If you are a business or developer interested in Bitcoin SV, join the new Bitcoin Association for BSV and participate in building the future of Bitcoin and blockchain. We welcome participation by anyone interested in Bitcoin SV, even if you also support or work on other blockchain or digital currency projects. Visit our website at new.bitcoinassociation.net/swiss-membership/ to learn more about the new Bitcoin Association's membership structure.

SOURCE Bitcoin Association

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Bitcoin Association Becomes Switzerland Non-profit Association, Expands Global Work to Advance Bitcoin SV [bSV] - PRNewswire

Two-thirds of people in Europe believe that cryptocurrencies will still exist in ten years time, according to a survey of 10,000 citizens by Bitcoin exchange bitFlyer Europe.

Its annual Crypto-Confidence Index for 2020, published today, also found that Italians are the biggest believers, at 72%while the UK is the least confident at 56%.

The survey was conducted in March, as panic about the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. Countries introduced quantitative easing, and volatility hit the value of assetsboth traditional and digital. Around this time, stocks were falling and the price of Bitcoin dropped 50% from $9,000 to $4,500.

Despite this, confidence in cryptocurrencies across Europe has increased 3% versus the 2019 results. Respondents in nine out of the ten countries polled were more confident.

At the start of the outbreak, Italy was badly hit by the coronavirus. It was one of the first countries to see widespread lockdowns in place as the country struggled to deal with it. It also saw a fall in confidence in the European Unions willingness to help its struggling economy.

This may help to explain why Italy has the biggest proportion of citizens (12%) which believes that cryptocurrencies will one day be used as mainstream currency, a two percent increase from last year.

Conversely, only five percent of UK respondents believe in the potential of cryptocurrencies as mainstream currencies.

Notably, the UK is the only country, other than Norway, in which population confidence in the future of cryptocurrencies decreased, and neither country relies on the Euro.

Countries like Italy which have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis are expressing more faith than ever in cryptocurrencies, said Andy Bryant, chief operating officer at bitFlyer Europe. As people face economic hardship, we can expect populations to seek alternatives to traditional financial systems. This is an important time for the crypto industry to demonstrate how cryptocurrencies and associated concepts such as decentralized finance can provide attractive alternatives or even substitutes for incumbent economic models.

The March 2020 poll also found that almost one in 10 (nine percent) of Europeans believe Bitcoin will be fully ingrained into society as a form of currency in 10 years time, whilst nine percent believe it will be used as a security or investment. A quarter of those polled were unsure how cryptocurrencies might be used in the future.

The Bitflyer survey appears to contradict a recent survey from Austrias ING Bank, conducted in August, which found weakening confidence in Bitcoin (with the exception of Turkey).

But its Italy where citizens seem most receptive to cryptocurrencies. And the search for non-traditional currencies has already started.

Earlier this week, a small Italian town even began minting banknotes called Ducatis in a bid to help struggling locals.

Castellino del Biferno, in the mountainous north of the country, has just 550 residents. Its handing the Ducati notes out to residents based upon their economic needs, and is targeting the elderlyidentified as the group needing the most help understanding the new currency.

Maybe that will help them understand Bitcoin, if the need arises.

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Bitcoin has a future, say two-thirds of Europeans - Decrypt

Bitcoin price remained relatively stable over the weekend sustaining last weeks accrued gains above $7,500. However, the bullish action rapidly extended upwards with $8,000 in the sight glass but hit a wall at $7,805 (intraday high). Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at $7,704 (close to its opening value at $7,704.33. The prevailing trend is bullish while the shrinking volatility suggests that downward movements will not be rapid in the current and coming sessions of the day.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin is ready for another lift-off above the critical $8,000. It appears that the recent break above the 50-day SMA has been vital to the recovery experienced since BTC/USD surged above $7,000 last week. The MACD displays a positive and strong bullish picture especially with the bullish divergence within the region above the mean line.

It is also important that the bearish pennant pattern resistance and the hurdle at the 200-day SMA are overcome for the much-anticipated gains towards $9,000. As Bitcoin halving draws nigh, volatility is expected to increase due to the speculation among investors. Most investors expect Bitcoin price to rally pre and post halving, with some predicting gains in the excess of $80,000 per BTC by 2022. In the meantime, in the event Bitcoin price reverses the trend, support is expected at $7,700, $7,500, and $7,200.

Read more:Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin mooning to $5 million in just 5 years

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD paces above $7,800, the focus shifts to $9,000 - FXStreet

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Bitcoin surged to its highest level in more than a month Thursday morning, with market analysts optimistic that its bull run will continue. Futures contracts are trading at a premium compared with spot prices, generally a sign of near-term upside, and prices have doubled since their low point in early March. Other cryptocurrencies enjoyed slight gains late in the week as well.

Source: Messari. Prices as of 4:00 p.m. on April 24, 2020

The Peoples Bank of China released a list of companies that will be test sites for its national digital currency in the near future, and it includes some familiar names. Starbucks SBUX , McDonalds MCD and Subway locations in three large cities will begin offering payment via the digital currency, though its launch date has yet to be determined. Digital payment is already ubiquitous in China with Alibaba BABA s AliPay, and since most of its citizens have bank accounts and smartphones, adoption of a national digital currency could be seamless.

Nigeria-based app Bundle launched this Thursday, aiming to get more people in Africa to exchange money using cryptocurrencies. Funded by Binance, the payments app is similar to Venmo and will allow users to send, receive and spend bitcoin, ether and the Nigerian naira with little more than the recipients phone number. Founder Yele Bademosi dropped out of medical school to try to make global finance more accessible in Africa, where he estimates only 1.4 million of the 1.2 billion people living there already use crypto.

Although most Americans are using their $1,200 stimulus checks from the government on essential expenses like bills, essentials and emergency savings, data from Coinbase shows that some are investing their entire check in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that the number of deposits of exactly $1,200 more than tripled on the exchange since the IRS began distributing the cash last week, and CoinDesk reported that Binance was showing similar data.

If stimulus check recipients had invested their $250 stipend during the last recession in 2009 in bitcoin when the cryptocurrency was still in its infancy and almost worthless, that investment would be worth hundreds of millions now. They can only hope that this investment is a fraction as successful.

Markets crashed in March as individuals and institutions scrambled to liquidate their assets, and that often included their cryptocurrency portfolios as prices sharply tumbled. Now, with the Federal Reserve taking drastic measures to revive the economy, stablecoins like Tether the dollar-backed USDC have seen an uptick in volume.

The next few weeks will be pivotal for bitcoin leading up to its halving scheduled for May 12. Bitcoins price rose significantly in the 12 months following its previous halvings, which occur once every four years, though its counterpart litecoin is down 70% since its halving last year after a frenzied run-up leading up to the event.

How a Crypto Guru Shaped Harvards Roadmap for Reopening the US Economy [CoinDesk]

The pandemic was bitcoins chance to shine. It hasnt yet [Wired]

Bitcoin maven Toni Lane Casserly, Joan of Arc of blockchain, dead at 29 [New York Post]

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Bitcoin Hits April High; Crypto Portfolios Get Stimulus Injection - Forbes

Crypto analyst Tone Vays is laying out his predictions for the global economy and Bitcoin in the year ahead.

In a new ask-me-anything hosted by ChainTalk, Vays says governments will take wide-ranging actions to mitigate the damage to economic growth triggered by the coronavirus. He believes lawmakers will raise taxes to make up for lost revenue from businesses that have to close their doors.

In addition, he thinks countries may be forced to stop using the euro as their national currency or decide to abandon it on their own. Vays also expects governments to tighten their grip on the movement of money, as Australias central bank did last year to combat capital flight and rising inflation.

All of this will drive people into Bitcoin. And the halving is coming in a few weeks so once Bitcoins daily supply to the miners gets cut in half, there will be a lot less selling pressure.

In the year ahead, Vays expects an increasing number of investors to view Bitcoin as an alternative, uncorrelated asset that can act as a hedge on the global economy. As for 2020, Vays is bullish, but warns the stock market may limit how far Bitcoins price can move.

I believe that the worst for Bitcoin is over. As for the stock market, Im not so sure. I believe over the 12 months people will start to consider Bitcoin a safe-haven asset that could also bring them a better return

I can see Bitcoin rising to as high as $8,500-9,000 on this run up over the next month or two, after that I think it will pull back down but I dont see Bitcoin falling under $5,000 again. If the economy continues to be poor, Bitcoin will probably not go up much because people will just not risk the money they have left on Bitcoin. As for end of 2020, I think Bitcoin will be around $10,000.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong

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Analyst Tone Vays Predicts 12-Month Bitcoin (BTC) Trajectory, Says Three Factors Will Drive People Into Crypto - The Daily Hodl

Rumors of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have triggered a burst of speculation among Bitcoin (BTC) traders.

Data from the United Nations suggests North Korea has stolen approximately $2 billion worth of crypto and fiat currency from exchanges and financial institutions. The country has long been accused of being behind a number of sophisticated online heists in an effort to fund its military operations.

Russian Market, a Russian media blog, told its 159,000 followers on Twitter that reports of Kim Jong-uns ailing health could cause a BTC reversal if a change in command begins and officials decide its time to sell the countrys massive crypto holdings.

Economist Alex Krger says he highly doubts the death of Kim Jong-un is anything investors should worry about.

North Korea possesses uranium mines containing 4 million tons of high-grade uranium ore. North Korea news should trigger big selloff in Uranium (if Kims death confirmed).

As rumors continue to swirl about North Koreas supreme leader, South Korean intelligence says it has confirmedthat Kimis alive and well.

Wherever the truth lies, the Kim dynasty is set to continue. Kim Jong-uns sister, Kim Yo-jong, is next in line and would become the first woman to rule the country.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Mc_Cloud

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Kim Jong-uns $2,000,000,000 Bitcoin (BTC), Crypto and Fiat Fortune Suddenly in the Spotlight - The Daily Hodl

After a tumultuous two monthsduring the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of bitcoin is starting to return to form as the cryptocurrency sees its highest prices since the second week of March.

During the pandemic and related financial turmoil, bitcoin has been on a rollercoaster ride, dropping briefly below $4,000 March 12, down from more than $10,000 in the middle of February before slowly rising again.

Over the last week, bitcoins price has seen sustained growth, from $6,783.06 April 21 to $7,703.29 as of 10 p.m. EDT. A similar trend can be seen over the last month, bitcoin having dropped to $5878.71 March 30.

In the short term, bitcoin traders are looking to $8,100 as the next resistance point,according to Bitcoinist. Others, such as NewsBTC suggest that bitcoin may be entering a full-blown bull run should history repeat, comparing the current rally to that of February 2019, which saw bitcoins price move from $3,000 to $14,000 in five months.

One factor that may be influencing bitcoins upward movement is the forthcoming halving expected to take place May 12.The halving will cause the supply of new bitcoin available through bitcoin mining to be halved, hence the name. That creates a scarcity of new supply, which in traditional economics causes prices to increase.

A report from Glassnode also noted that many investors are holding their bitcoin during the coronavirus pandemic, indicating that long-term holders are not concerned by the price decline in March. Nearly 43% of circulating bitcoin supply has not moved in the last two years, a 10.4% increase from the same time last year, the report noted.

The unknown factor in looking forward, however, is the broader economy. Although bitcoin has long been pitched as a safe haven during difficult times, that theory fell flat in March as bitcoin declined along with equities markets. How long the pandemic continues, and if and when economies may start to reopen and eventually return to some sense of normalcy, is anyones guess at this stage, although there are some signs that the worst may be over.

Bitcoin may be well-placed to grow in the coming year alongside the recovery of broader markets, but given its history, it could go in either direction.

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Bitcoin returns to form with solid price growth amid the coronavirus pandemic - SiliconANGLE

The United States Federal Reserve fake economy has burst, former presidential candidate Ron Paul has announced as money printing takes its balance sheet to $6.6 trillion.

In a series of tweets on April 24, Paul became the latest critic to launch a scathing on U.S. economic policy present and past.

According to the pro-Bitcoin retired politician, neither coronavirus nor a brief uptick in stocks can hide the impact of the Feds actions. For him, Keynesian ideas such as market interventions and money printing are un-American.

The Fed's fake economy has burst. The stock market, even if it rises, cannot hide the damage that has been done. The virus, now known to be less deadly than the seasonal flu, cannot act as a legitimate excuse either, he wrote.

Another tweet read:

The un-American ideas of government micromanagement and Fed central planning of the economy have failed, and will continue to fail as long as they're clung to. The time to rebuild with the American ideas of liberty and sound money has arrived.

Pauls comments come as the Feds balance sheet reaches record highs of $6.6 trillion, purely due to money printing and associated economic bailout measures.

Federal Reserve balance sheet 14-year chart. Source: Holger Zschaepitz/ Twitter

As Cointelegraph reported, Raoul Pal, CEO of Global Macro Investor, this week released a dedicated 120-page report into the severity of the economic damage sparked by governments reaction to coronavirus.

The Baby Boomers are totally f*cked, a popular soundbite from the report, which champions Bitcoin, summarizes.

Meanwhile, the trader who called Bitcoin (BTC) topping at around $20,000 in 2017 has drawn comparisons to the stock markets of 2020 and 1930 just before the Great Depression hit with full force.

Comparing two Dow Jones charts, Peter Brandt argued that stocks current rise from last months crash merely echoes their behavior after the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

Sleep well tonight. We are all so lucky to be living in an age when Fed will bail us out, he sarcastically added in comments.

Dow Jones charts from 2020 and 1929-30. Source: Peter Brandt/ Twitter

The idea that money printing is ruinous in the long term has formed part of similar Fed criticism for almost a century.

The world is full of so-called economists who in turn are full of schemes for getting something for nothing, Henry Hazlitt wrote in his popular book, Economics in One Lesson, just a year after the Second World War.

They tell us that the government can spend and spend without taxing at all; that it can continue to pile up debt without ever paying it off, because we owe it to ourselves.

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Bitcoin to the Rescue as Ron Paul Says US Fed Fake Economy Has Burst - Cointelegraph

Since the start of the year, Ethereum investors earned nearly ten times more than Bitcoin hodlers. The second-largest digital asset has gained over 55% in 2020, while Bitcoin is only 6% higher from the first of January 2020. ETH/USD has grown by 4% since the start of the day and become the best-performing crypto asset out of top-10.

At the time of writing, ETH/USD is changing hands at $196.00. It is moving within a short-term bullish trend amid high volatility.

According to the Wale Alert Twitter bot, large cryptocurrency investors known as whales moved over 1.2 million ETH coins in eight transactions worth $241,774,447 in the recent 20 hours. The fee for each transaction did not exceed $1, and all of them were made from unknown wallets to other unknown wallets.

Such whale activity may be a precursor of large market movements.

ETH/USD settled above daily SMA100 (currently at $186.00) and continued gaining ground. Now that psychological $190.00 turned from a resistance to support level, ETH has a chance to retest $200.00 in the nearest sessions. If this critical barrier is broken, the buying pressure will increase with the next upside target as high as SMA200 at $248.00 and $250.00.

On the downside, a sustainable below daily SMA100 will negate the immediate bullish scenario and bring $180.00 back into focus. The critical support is created by the upside trend line from March 13 low (now at $175.00). The long-term recovery remains valid as long as the price stays above this trendline.

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Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH is ten times more profitable than Bitcoin in 2020 - FXStreet