After a series of adjournments, the Indian Crypto vs Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) case is being heard by a fresh 3-judge bench. The hearing started on 14th January as the Supreme Court of India resumed the session post the winter break. Unlike the last couple of hearings, judges want to take their time.

Today happens to be the third day of the cryptocurrency trial, the start of which was slightly disappointing.The Crypto Vs RBI Case was supposed to be the first matter to be discussed on 14th Jan. But it was pushed down the queue.

The dismayed crypto enthusiasts speculated about a new hearing date. To everyones surprise, the Crypto Vs RBI case hearing started in the second half of the day. The judges pointed out that this is due to the fact that the trial is a lengthy one. Thus, it could have blocked other important matters. To avoid such a scenario, the case was pushed to the afternoon session.

IAMAI counsel Ashim Sood opened the case by pointing out the drawbacks of the draft bill presented to the Government of India. He explained the concept of blockchain to the panel. Additionally, he explained how the new technology is becoming common in the banking sector.

He also emphasized that the usage of the term currency with virtual currencies is being misunderstood as a threat to the Indian monetary system.

Counsel Sood strongly questioned the RBIs power to ban crypto.

To remind, the RBI has been pointing fingers at the price volatility of the cryptocurrency and claims that consumer rights are at risk. To counter this Mr. Sood bought the panels attention to the design of the stock market, which exhibits similar volatility.

According to Sood, crypto price volatility should be the SEBIs concern, not the RBIs. Likewise, the tax invasion issues need to be brought up by the CBDT.

Furthermore, he stated that crypto is a commodity, and the RBI has no power in this realm. Thus the RBI does not have enough authority to execute a crypto ban.

The RBIs plea to ban crypto seems to be turning baseless. As per the counsel, it has no material at hand to form such a strong opinion against crypto.

Furthermore, the counsel strongly questioned the basis which the RBI relied on when enforcing the Banking Regulation Act. To remind, the act restrained Indian Banks from operating deposit/withdrawal accounts for crypto exchanges.

Counsel Sood argued the RBI should have attempted to regulate crypto instead of placing a ban. Furthermore, he completely disagrees with the RBIs statement that its impossible to do it. He supports his point of view by citing examples of countries like Japan, Australia, Germany and Italy that have been successful in regulating crypto.

The panel questioned counsel whether crypto threatens the monetary system that the RBI protects. It seems he was ready to face the question. Accordingly, he completely negated the chances of crypto threatening the Indian Monetary system in the near future.

He added that IAMAI is defending the case of de-anonymous crypto, which always requires KYCs. Hence the chances of funding terrorism and money laundering are remote.

The counsel was cornered by some questions posed by the panel of judges. According to the judges, cryptocurrency is both a commodity and a medium of exchange, as per its definition. If thats so, then how does it not interfere with the monetary system?

The panel also questioned the utility of cryptocurrencies like BTC as a commodity. Counsel Sood is yet to answer these questions in detail.

Judging by the running of the trial, it seems IAMAI has a strong case, and we might soon hear some good news.

Previously, we explained how to buy cryptocurrency in India and what is happening with blockchain in India.

Stay tuned to get the latest of the Crypto Vs RBI Case.

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Most Awaited Indian Cryptocurrency Case Turns Optimistic - Cryptocurrency Regulation - Altcoin Buzz

Blockchain researchers traced $2.8 billion in illicit Bitcoin BTC believed to be laundered on cryptocurrency exchanges in 2019 with over 50 percent ($1.4B) washed through major trading hubs Binance and Huobi.

Binance and Huobi lead all exchanges in illicit Bitcoin received by a significant margin, said cryptocurrency analysis unit Chainalysis. That may come as a surprise given that Binance and Huobi are two of the largest exchanges operating, and are subject to KYC regulations.

[Read:Greece suspends extradition of alleged launderer for Bitcoin stolen from Mt Gox]

Chainalysis found more than 300,000 individual accounts on those exchanges had touchedBitcoin sent from criminal sources last year, and manually identified a list of the top 100 rogue over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency brokers they believe to be money launderers.

[] A small segment of these accounts is extremely active. The 2,196 accounts in the three highest-receiving buckets received a total of nearly $27.8 billion worth of Bitcoin in 2019, said the firm.

The amount of illicit cryptocurrency touched by the Rogue 100 is no joke: they reportedlyreceived more than $3 billion worth of Bitcoin in 2019, and accounted for as much as 1 percent of all Bitcoin activity in any given month.

OTC brokers serve as middle men for those looking to transact away from public exchanges. They typically facilitate clients by negotiating trades for larger amounts of cryptocurrency for set price.

Chainalysis described OTC brokers as a crucial source of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market, citing evidence provided by data firm Kaiko that estimates theyre actually involved in the majority ofall cryptocurrency trade volume.

Theres a multitude of reasons for enlisting OTC brokers, many legitimate. Market makers andwhales with fat stacks of digital cashoften trade in this way to avoid influencing the overall cryptocurrency market with their big movements.

Some OTC brokers specialize in laundering money for criminals drawn to their services as they can have much lower know-your-customer requirements than online exchanges, Chainalysis explained.

Seventy of the top 100 addresses linked to OTC brokers laundered Bitcoin exclusively though Huobi. In total, those 70 brokers reportedly received more than $194 million from criminal entities last year.

Researchers however posited it could be possible that some had additional accounts on Binance or other exchanges.

Keep in mind, the Rogue 100 only represents OTC brokers weve manually identified as money launderers over the course of our investigations on behalf of Chainalysis clients, said the firm. We think its extremely likely that some percentage of the other highly-active Binance and Huobi accounts taking in illicit funds also belong to corrupt OTC brokers weve yet to identify.

Last month, Hard Fork reported thatPlusToken, a Chinese Ponzi scheme worth some $2.6 billion, may have been responsible for keeping the Bitcoins price down. Chainalysis noted that many of theRogue 100played a substantial role in the scam.

As for what Binance is doing to mitigate exposure to money-laundering OTC brokers, spokesperson assured the firm that it was aware of the growing trend and movements of illicit funds, and that its platform is compliant with KYC requirements in each jurisdiction in which it operates.

While Chainalysis did clarify that criminally-connected cryptocurrency represents a small fraction of total amountreceived by Binance and Huobi, the amount is still significant, with thetop 31 suspicious accounts alone exposed to more than $163 million in Bitcoin linked to dodgy sources.

Published January 16, 2020 14:00 UTC

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$1.4B in illicit Bitcoin was laundered via Binance and Huobi last year, report says - The Next Web

The cryptocurrency industry has suddenly become of great interest to a lot of countries. So much even that Uzbekistan now wants to legalize crypto mining through a nationalized venture.

It is the first time the government of Uzbekistan introduces such a bold venture.

Their vision is quite simple to explain.

Rather than prohibiting crypto activity in the country, the government of Uzbekistan aims to legalize cryptocurrency, primarily the mining aspect.

This will be done through a national mining pool, as well as a national digital asset exchange.

This proposal was put forward by the National Agency for project Management, or NAPM.

There will be benefits for people who use the nationalized mining pool.

They will allegedly be able to obtain electricity at a discounted rate.

It is very similar to how some countries provide government-subsidized electricity in certain regions.

Where the electricity will come from exactly, remains unclear at this time.

Regarding the digital asset exchange, it will be designed primarily for the miners themselves.

Through this platform, they can sell any coins they minted and want to convert to local fiat currency.

It is expected that this trading platform will launch as early as next week under the Uznex banner.

All of these changes can have a prominent impact on the cryptocurrency industry across Uzbekistan.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

Link:
Government Officials in Uzbekistan Have Major Plans for Cryptocurrency Mining - NullTX

Venezuela is targeting a boost in oil production this year while it moves to sell barrels of crude from storage using cryptocurrency, President Nicolas Maduro said in his annual address.

Maduro said before the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) that he wants Venezuela's crude production to more than double in 2020, to 2 million barrels of oil per day from current levels of nearly 1 million bpd.

The Opec producers output has steadily declined since the 1990s level of more than 3 million bpd, and this malaise has worsened in recent years with the impact of US sanctions, reaching just 714,000 bpd in December 2019, according to Opec figures.

In his speech, Maduro asked oil workers, national and international companies as well as investors for their support in helping Venezuela regain its productive capacity through the oil industry.

To do this, the Venezuelan leader said that the government's pseudo-cryptocurrency known as the Petro has been designated as the official primary currency for all transactions by state-owned entities, including national oil company PDVSA.

Maduro decreed the sale of 4.5 million barrels of undeveloped Orinoco heavy crude reserves priced in Petros from the certified physical reserve of 30 million barrels currently maintained by PDVSA but did not name the buyers or the dates of the transactions.

He said the goal is to eventually sell PDVSA's entire oil production in Petros.

We are preparing for a second phase that will allow more efficient use of cryptocurrency, Maduro said.

However, US sanctions, aimed at toppling Maduro in favor of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, include a prohibition on Petro transactions.

In his speech, Maduro acknowledged that US sanctions hurt the country in 2019, but he said they have failed because he remains in power and the worst of the crisis has passed.

Venezuela's own traditional currency, the bolivar, is nearly worthless and has been effectively eclipsed by the dollar in many commercial transactions inside the country.

Excerpt from:
Venezuela targets production boost with cryptocurrency sales - Upstream Online

Bitcoin has continued its strong form this month, teasing $9,000 briefly in its best January since 2012, despite an apparent easing of Middle East tensions that werepreviously attributed to its increasing price.

Bitcoin is up 21% since the beginning of the year, and some experts now claim it could double in price by the end of the year. Bitcoin was trading at $8,654.71 as of 10 p.m. EDT, down 1.6% over the last 24 hours but still its highest price since mid-November.

CNBC reportedtoday that the price increase is being driven by the launch of CME Group Inc. bitcoin futures in December along with the forthcoming bitcoin halving taking place in May. Halving isa processby which the reward for mining bitcoin is halved, making the production of new coins more difficult often causing bitcoins price to surge.

On debut, the CME bitcoin futures did not find a willing audience, but in the space of a month, the futures contracts have become more popular. Over 1,000 bitcoin futures contracts were traded in the last day covering options ranging from January through to December. The options also hit a new transaction high per dollar value Jan. 14. The futures contracts are particularly notable as they are settled in bitcoin, driving additional demand.

Increasing demand for CME bitcoin futures also reflects growing acceptance of bitcoin and bitcoin-related products among institutional investors. A recent survey of financial advisors found that the percentage looking to allocate cryptocurrency as an asset is expected to more than double in 2020, from 6% to 13%.

The bitcoin halving in May will see the supply of new bitcoin available through bitcoin mining halved, hence the name. A halving is triggered every 210,000 blocks on the bitcoin blockchain. As Cointelegraph explains by way of analogy, its a bit like gold and gold mining, there being afinite supply of gold with mining becoming more difficult over time.

The halving also occurs to prevent all bitcoin from being immediately mined. Bitcoin has a maximum 21 million coins, with 18 million currently in circulation. By making the process harder, all of those coins wont be mined out.

The reduction in the ability to mine bitcoin at the same rate also produces scarcity in that less bitcoin is coming into circulation, thus driving up the price.

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Bitcoin rises as cryptocurrency has its best January since 2012 - SiliconANGLE News

Bitcoin has had a mixed start to the new year. The price has climbed, most likely for potentially controversial reasonsbut, meanwhile, at least one minor cryptocurrency is going from strength to strength.

The bitcoin price has climbed over the first few days of 2020 but has failed to make meaningful gains and breakout of its long-running malaise, leaving many cryptocurrency traders and investors disappointed.

However, chainlink, a top 20 cryptocurrency traded under the name link boasting an $800 million market capitalization, has risen 25% already in 2020bringing its year-on-year rise close to a staggering 500%.

The bitcoin price has outperformed most major cryptocurrencies over the last year but some smaller ... [+] tokens, including chainlink, are making huge gains.

The chainlink price reached its highest in late June of 2019, hitting $4.55 and up over 1800% from the start of 2019.

The massive rally was caused by interest in chainlink from China, the world's largest bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange by volume, Binance, working with chainlink developers so-called decentralized finance products, and search giant Google using chainlink's blockchain to bridge legacy databases.

"As with most blockchain projects in their infancy given the low liquidity initially, any surge in demand is likely to cause significant impact on price," said Simon Peters, bitcoin and crypto analyst at investment platform eToro.

The chainlink price has fallen back somewhat from its all-time high but has broken the broader cryptocurrency downward trendwith almost all so-called altcoins failing to recover after the brutal crypto winter of late 2018 and early 2019.

The chainlink price hits an all-time high of $4.54 back in July of last year and has since fallen ... [+] back from there but remains significantly up on the start of 2019.

"With chainlink developers working with the likes of Swift to help connect banks to smart contracts, as well as major companies like Google, naturally this has caused excitement around the potential of the platform going forward," Peters added.

"This has subsequently encouraged investors to buy the link token, speculating on the project's future success. With link prices increasing over the last year, this was further compounded by the 'fear of missing out' phenomenon."

More here:
As Bitcoin Struggles, This Minor Cryptocurrency Is Up Almost 500% Over The Past 12 Months - Forbes

Ripple's XRP, now the 3d largest digital asset with the current market value of $10.1 billion has gained over 7% in recent 24 hours. The coin touched the highest level of 2020 at $0.244 on Tuesday and retreated to $0.2323 by the time of writing. The coin has been moving in sync with the global cryptocurrency market, driven by a strong wave of bullish sentiments.

The Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Heath Tarbert thinks that it is not clear whether XRP is a security. The Agency has been working with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to figure out the status of Ripple's token. Notably, the head of CFTC has now doubts as to the status of Ethereum, which is regarded as a commodity.

Meanwhile, Ripple Labs is often accused of earning from XRP sales to retain investors: Ripple executives deny the claims saying that they sell token for negligible amounts compared to other sources of funding.

XRP/USD bottomed at $0.2259 during early Asian hours and recovered to the area above $0.2300 by the time of writing. While the coin is still below the recent highs, a sustainable move above $0.2200 the previous recovery high of $0.2250 has improved the short-term technical picture. The crucial support area is created by a combination of SMA50 1-hour and the lower line of 1-hour Bollinger Band on approach to the above-said psychological $0.2200. If it is broken, the sell-off may be extended towards $0.2130 (SMA200 1-hour).

From the longer-term point of view, strong support is created by SMA50 daily at $0.2080 followed by the middle line of the daily Bollinger Band at $0.2045.

On the upside, the key barrier is created by SMA100 daily currently at $0.2430. This resistance area has been validated twice, which means that the bulls will have a hard time with it. Once it is out of the way, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on psychological $0.2500. The ultimate resistance comes at $0.2680 (SMA200 daily).

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Ripple Price Analysis: XRP/USD capitalizes on the global cryptocurrency bulls' run - FXStreet

The cryptocurrency market has been growing strongly following the successful launch of options on Bitcoin futures on CME. Positive momentum has been increased by technical factors as Bitcoin and may altcoins broke crucial resistance levels and thus attracted new speculative buyers to the market. The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased to $228 billion, while an average daily trading volume reached $99 billion. Bitcoin's market dominance is registered at 68.1%.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hit the intraday high at $8,587 during early Asian hours and retreated to $8,517 by. press time, The coin has gained over 5% both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of the day. Despite the retreat, BTC/USD is still trading above critical $8,500, reinforced by 50% Fibo retracement for the upside move from December 2018 low to July 2019 high. While the short-term trend remains bullish, the intraday volatility has been decreasing gradually.

Ethereums price action took it above $151.00 to an intraday high of $151.61. The strong bullish move was triggered by a decisive breakthrough above $148.00. The prevailing short-term trend is bearish as the coin has been in retreat from the recent high, though the longer-term perspectives look good as long as it stays above $150.00.

Ripple came close to the highest level of $0.2255 and retreated to $0.2200 by press time. The third-largest digital asset has been growing steadily after the resistance of $0.2100 gave way. XRRP/USD has gained 4.5% since the beginning of Monday, moving in sync with the market. The short-term trend is bullish.

Bitcoin SV (+25%) - $204.93

Dash (+23%) - $81.00

Litecoin (+7.6%) - $53.96

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Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin and major altcoins start the trip to the moon - FXStreet

The overwhelming surge across the cryptocurrency market has greatly revived interest in the major cryptocurrencies. For instance, Bitcoin SV has more than tripled in value since the lows traded last December. The cryptoasset is trading at $345 after adjusting from highs at $450. Other assets that have improved greatly, include Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold and Dash.

However, the surge appears to be on the rocks as the cryptocurrenciesstartto reverse. The majority of the major cryptos are in the red on Wednesday led by Bitcoin, which is down 6%, Litecoin follows at 3% and EOS at 4.21%.

On the other hand, the cryptoassets that are still in the green include, Dash with its 31% rise on a daily basis, Bitcoin Gold is trading 27.7% higher and Ethereum Classic is up 4.3%.

Bitcoin is down 2% on the day following a surge towards $9,000. An intraday high formed at $8,899 saw the bears start to swing into action. At the time of writing, BTC is valued at $8,627 amid a growing bearish momentum. If the support at $8,600 fails to hold, the zone at $8,400 could rescue the bulls. More support can also be expected to emanate from the former resistance at $8,200.

Ethereum, on the other hand, retreated from the new January 2020 high at $171.67. Support appears to be establishing at $160. Meanwhile, ETH/USD is valued at $162 (market value). Additional support is expected at $155, the 50 SMA on the 1-hour chart, and the 100 SMA.

Ripple blasted its way through the resistance at $0.22 as well as $0.24. An adjustment in the price has occurred with Ripple slide back to $0.2342. Immediate support could be found at $0.23. Besides, the leveling RSI suggests that Ripple could settle the dust above $0.24 while the upside capped at $0.24 in the near term.

Link:
Cryptocurrency Market Update: Two-day recovery on the rocks as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple trim gains - FXStreet

Bitcoin SV (BSV) is now the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, after a turbulent day sent its value skyrocketing against the US dollar, up more than 100% at its peak on Tuesday. Its price, which hit an 24-hour high of $441.20 on Tuesday, subsequently plunged by nearly $100.

The massive surge in value comes amid new developments in the lawsuit against Craig Wright. The Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin is one of the biggest supporters of BSV, and he now says he can access a massive trove of Bitcoin holdings.

Wright is being sued by Ira Kleiman, brother of Wrights deceased business partner David Kleiman, for the alleged misappropriation of more than one million BTC that was once held jointly by the two business partners. Wright responded that the cryptographically locked Bitcoin, which requires a private key to unlock, was inaccessible.

US judge Beth Bloom gave Wright until February 3rd to access about $9.2 billion worth of Bitcoin which Wright said was locked in a Tulip Trust, an encrypted document that holds the keys to the BTC that Wright and Kleiman mined together.

Wright claimed a bonded courier who possessed the keys that could unlock the encrypted Tulip Trust would arrive this month, and on Tuesday, he filed a notice of compliance stating that the third party had indeed provided him with the information he needed to unlock the file. Wright also claims he has provided Kleimans side with a list of his Bitcoin holdings.

In a counter filing, the plaintiffs expressed their lack of satisfaction with Wrights list.

Say Kleimans lawyers,

The document produced by Craig is simply a list of 16,404 addresses. Craig, however, did not provide any information on the bounded [sic] courier, the company he/she worked for, when he/she came, or the message delivered.

Plaintiffs request they be provided with seven (7) interrogatories about the courier that Craig must respond to in ten (10) days. Plaintiffs will then use those responses to seek discovery from the bonded courier and his company. In the interim, Plaintiffs are having their experts review and analyze the list.

Plaintiffs expect that they will be ready to depose Craig after this discovery occurs, in early March.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Smelov

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Bitcoin SV Blasts Ahead of Litecoin, Tether and Bitcoin Cash to Become Fourth-Largest Cryptocurrency - The Daily Hodl