2019 was a crazy year for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and a number of interesting events happened throughout the last 12 months. Its hard to keep track of the day-to-day activities taking place within the cryptosphere and there may be a few incidents some of our readers missed. At news.Bitcoin.com we took the opportunity to scan our most popular articles from 2019 in order to create a year-end list to share with our readers.

Also Read: A List of Self-Proclaimed Bitcoin Inventors and Satoshi Clues Debunked in 2019

Bitcoin.coms writers are entrenched in the cryptosphere and every day our writing team is on the hunt for cryptocurrency-related news. During the last 365 days, a number of our writers have published news stories seven days a week to keep our readers informed. Theres been a number of developments in 2019, as the community is dealing with digital asset regulations, crypto exchange hacks, central banks practicing monetary easing, and people claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto. The following is a look at news.Bitcoin.coms most popular crypto articles in 2019 by order of the highest-trafficked content.

In September, news.Bitcoin.coms Kevin Helms reported on the Reserve Bank of Indias regulatory guidelines imposed, which limited bank customers withdrawals from 137 financial institutions. Customers from these bank branches were only allowed to withdraw 1,000 rupees (approximately $14) per account for six months.

After the news spread, a number of Indias citizens revolted and the government had to send police assistance to a few different banks located in Mumbai. The report highlighted how the current banking system, no matter what country you live in, continues to grow untrustworthy.

Across 2019, a great number of central banks and countries participated in practicing monetary easing. However, one specific economy, that has been considered the foundation of Europe, has been showing signs of financial failure. In August, Lubomir Tassev explained that the German economy is facing an economic crisis that could cause a domino effect throughout the EU.

2019 statistics had shown that Germanys strong industrial economy saw significant declines in production. [Germany] is now seeing a significant decline in production by 2.7% year-on-year in January and 1.9% in April compared to the previous month, Tassev detailed. Then in May, factory orders declined 2.2% from a month ago and registered an 8.6% annual drop, the biggest in a decade. The following month the country invoked a five-year rent freeze in Berlin.

In May, the cryptocurrency community found another suspect who might be the infamous creator of Bitcoin. Kai Sedgwick reported on how the name Paul Le Roux found its way into the cryptosphere last spring. During the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit, Document 187 had shown an unredacted name and Wiki link which belongs to the criminal mastermind Paul Le Roux.

The document led people to believe that Le Roux was smart enough to create Bitcoin and the coincidental timing of his arrest was around the same time Nakamoto left the community. Speculators really started wondering if Le Roux was Nakamoto when an anon from 4chans /biz/ messageboard insisted that Bitcoin was a project of a evil genius Paul Solotshi Calder Le Roux.

Satoshi Nakamoto was a popular topic in 2019, and a few of news.Bitcoin.coms highest-trafficked articles are written about this legendary character. The day before Halloween, news.Bitcoin.com published a story about the fascinating clues left behind by Bitcoins notorious creator.

The editorial discusses Satoshis planning, theories as to why Nakamoto left the community, and conspiracy theories like the idea that Bitcoin was created by the CIA. Satoshi left behind a bunch of clues and said some interesting statements back when the monicker spoke on bitcointalk.org and the cryptography mailing list.

All year long Indian cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been waiting on the final word in regard to digital currency regulations in India. News about the regulatory situation started coming to life in the spring and in March, Indias government told the supreme court that the crypto regulations being drafted were near completion.

Attorney Jaideep Reddy of Nishith Desai, a lawyer behind a writ petition opposing the crypto banking ban by the Reserve Bank of India, told news.Bitcoin.com at the time: The matter was heard for a very short period of time The matter started with the counsel for the Union of India stating that its committee is in the final stages of deliberations and that the matter should be heard after that.

During the first week of August, it was discovered that the giant retail corporation Walmart patented plans for a stablecoin backed by USD. The news followed Facebooks announcement to launch a coin called Libra. Walmarts attempt also followed the time when the company attempted to start its own banking services back in 2006.

At the time, politicians and financial incumbents opposed Walmart joining the banking industry and the firm got so much pushback it decided to quit the banking attempt. However, with a Walmart Coin, the company could skip all the banking charter laws and offer customers a different kind of savings incentive through cryptocurrency dividends.

News about cryptocurrency laws in India was of great interest to news.Bitcoin.com readers in 2019. On July 26, headlines detailed that an Indian official who led the committee which had created the crypto ban bill resigned.

Former Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg decided to apply for voluntary retirement after receiving flak from the Indian cryptocurrency community. Supporters of friendlier digital asset laws in India, called the drafted bill flawed and after a few controversial tweets about crypto, he left his post. Moreover, a few days prior, members of the Indian government told the public that digital currencies were not banned.

In the first month of 2019, news.Bitcoin.coms Lubomir Tassev wrote a review about eight different crypto debit cards people can use around the world. The editorial discussed cards issued by firms like Wirex, Bitpay, Revolut, Cryptopay, and Fuzex.

The report explained the negatives and the positive benefits to a loadable cryptocurrency card. In addition to detailed information about existing crypto cards on the market, Tassev also wrote about the upcoming card companies that planned to launch in 2019. The editorial highlights how the use of crypto debit cards significantly expands the usability of digital coins in the world.

There were a hell of a lot more popular stories last year and the eight mentioned above just scratch the surface when it comes to news.Bitcoin.coms 2019 archive. Other reader favorites in our library this year included subjects like a possible Deutsche Bank collapse, how Citi, Deutsche, and HSBC laid off thousands of employees, the Indian supreme courts struggles with drafting regulations, and the Philippines seeing 10 government approved exchanges.

There were plenty of Satoshi Nakamoto stories and unique editorials involving the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. The news about the U.S. tax agency telling the public they planned on sending 10,000 letters to American cryptocurrency owners shocked our readers. 2019 also saw the downfall of the biggest multi-level-marketing (MLM) crypto scam of all time when the so-called Bitcoin Killer Onecoin crumbled.

What do you think about the eight most popular news.Bitcoin.com articles from 2019? Let us know what you think about the subjects and articles in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any ideas, concepts, content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Fair Use.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Jamie Redman is a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source code, and decentralized applications. Redman has written thousands of articles for news.Bitcoin.com about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

Continued here:

These Are the Bitcoin Stories You Loved in 2019 - Bitcoin News

On January 1, the BTC network hashrate touched an all-time high at close to 120 exahash per second (EH/s). Despite the crypto market lull and lower BTC prices, the 2020 milestone happened just before the blockchains 11th anniversary. BTCs curious jump in hashrate has the cryptosphere wondering whether or not the price truly follows hashpower.

Also Read: Market Update: Crypto Traders Search for Bullish and Bearish Trends

One of the crypto communitys favorite topics is hash power, which is a cryptocurrency mining rigs processing speed. The overall hashrate is the combined hash power used to mine cryptocurrencies like BCH, BTC, and a slew of other coins. The hashrate that analytical websites track is typically measured in calculated hashes per second. Data sites use terminology like terahash (1,000,000,000,000 hashes per second), petahash (one quadrillion hashes per second), and exahash, which equals one quintillion hashes per second.

For some perspective, most single-unit machines produce a number of terahash per second. Bigger facilities filled with mining rigs and collaborative pools produce petahash, and the entire network of single miners, giant facilities, and pools combined yield a number of exahash. Miners on the BTC network did not process one exahash until the last week of January 2016. At the time, the milestone was considered a noteworthy spike in overall hashrate. On January 1, 2020, the BTC network hashrate touch 119 EH/s surpassing the chains previous all-time high of 100 EH/s.

Similar to now, in 2016 BTC prices were low, at $380 per coin when the network crossed one exahash. Following the jump in hash power, the price did follow, and very slowly crept from $380 per BTC to $700 per coin in June of that year. Following the month of June, BTCs hashrate climbed above two EH/s but BTC prices remained stagnant fluctuating between $600-$775 per coin. At the end of November 2016, the price per BTC started climbing higher and the value continued to spike in the spring of 2017. From the spring months of 2017 all the way until December 2017, both BTCs fiat value and hashrate skyrocketed. In April 2017, the overall BTC network hashrate was around 4 EH/s and by the years end, it was hovering around 15 EH/s. Now, despite the price dropping from close to $20k per BTC all the way to the $3,500 range, the hashrate jumped to 56 EH/s in September 2018 without dropping much in between.

In September 2018, with a hashrate around 56 EH/s, the price per BTC was similar to todays market prices at $6,500 per coin. From September to December 2018, the BTC network lost a significant amount of hashrate as it plummeted to 31 EH/s. Of course, the price in December 2018 was between $3,200 to $4,000 per BTC. Bitcoin prices didnt start to recover until the end of March 2019, but from December 2018 until the spring months of 2019, BTCs hashrate regained the hash power it held in September 2018 at around 56 EH/s. The overall hashrate has doubled since then, touching a milestone of 100 EH/s in November 2019. The price per BTC has also followed suit up until it touched the 100 EH/s all-time high. Since then, BTCs fiat value has hovered around the $6,500 to $7,500 region.

There is always a lot of talk that the price follows hashrate and historically this has been true. However, statistics show that the hash power typically gets a decent lead before the prices start kicking into gear. This means that it could take some time for the price to follow the climbing hashrate.

If historical patterns remain consistent with future patterns, it could mean a few more months before the price comes around. People should also keep in mind that past price and hashrate patterns do not necessarily reflect what will happen in the future.

What do you think about the BTC network hashrate coming close to 120 EH/s on January 1, 2020? Do you agree that the price will follow BTCs hashrate? Or do you think that patterns like price and hash do not matter? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the money. Cryptocurrency prices referenced in this article were recorded at different times using historical fiat prices and todays global exchange rate for BTC at 3:00 p.m. EST on January 2, 2020.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Twitter, Fair Use, Blockchain.com, markets.bitcoin.com, and Wiki Commons.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH, and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

Jamie Redman is a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source code, and decentralized applications. Redman has written thousands of articles for news.Bitcoin.com about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

More here:

BTC's Hashrate Touches 120 Exahash, But the Price Has Not Followed - Bitcoin News

India has been one of the most notable emerging economies in the world in the last few decades. It currently stands at seventh place with a nominal GDP of $2.72 trillion and it is expected to overtake the United Kingdom in years to come. Indias PM Narendra Modi envisioned a dream of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024. But achieving that dream for a country with a population of 1.3 billion might be a challenge if the current economic performance is to be considered. Indeed, bitcoin adoption in India could be the key to its economic future.

If Indias GDP is to reach $5 trillion by 2025, its minimum annual growth rate will need to be greater than 10.8 percent every year. Indias current GDP growth has fallen sharply from 8 percent last year to 5 percent in the second quarter of 2019. Manufacturing growth in India slumped to a 15-month low in August due to lower sales growth, resulting in factories being forced to shut down production.

Another reason for slowing economic growth is Indias rising unemployment rate, which was 8.5 percent in October, its highest in the last three years. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of Indian stocks during the July-September quarter, withdrawing over $3.2 billion from Indian capital markets. The Indian central governments fiscal deficit is projected to widen to about 3.7 percent in FY20, contrary to the plan of keeping it under 3.3 percent.

With all these lower-than-expected results, the Indian government has been taking a series of measures to boost the economy from the supply-side by pushing public capital expenditures, lowering the corporate tax from 35 percent to 25 percent. Indias central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut its interest rate five times since the start of 2019 to boost spending.

Back in 1991, India adopted economic liberalization which helped to expand its economy and its role in private investment. Due to this radical reform, India achieved the status of a developing country but failed to adopt similar reforms which would have propelled it toward becoming fully developed. What the Indian government could do is adopt measures to stir the economy in an upward direction and also focus on opening the doors to supplement growth. Right now, India has a chance to live up to this potential by adopting another radical monetary innovation: Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is the worlds most powerful monetary innovation, with an idea to democratize exchange/store of value without any control from a single authority. Eleven years after its birth, it has been the best-performing asset class and, importantly, is on its way from being merely collectible to achieving the status of digital gold in years to come. Recently, Bitcoins hash rate just hit an all-time high of 111 EH/s, restoring confidence in its network despite the price dump. Every day (or, more precisely, every 10 minutes) as Bitcoins network becomes stronger than before, it will absorb more monetary value in proportion.

Whats important is that the rise in bitcoins monetary value will have a significant impact on Indias fiat currencies. Countries with the weakest monetary policies and currencies are most at risk of economic failure at the outset. Once they begin to fall, a domino effect of all fiat currencies which adopted the wrong monetary policy and engaged in excessive money printing will follow. This threat to fiat currencies is a large part of the reason why governments all around the world are hesitant toward directly adopting bitcoin. But governments should view bitcoin not as a threat but as an opportunity.

Long before bitcoin, gold was considered a robust store of value. In 1944, 44 countries signed onto the Bretton Woods system, agreeing to peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar (which was, itself, declared to be backed by gold). Due to this structure and overall confidence in its economy, the USA achieved the status of superpower in decades to come. The same sort of robust growth could be achieved by India through bitcoin adoption.

First, India can open the roads for everyone to directly invest in bitcoin legally through banking channels. As it has done with gold, the Indian central bank can continue accumulating bitcoin as the countrys reserves. Due to bitcoins fixed supply of 21 million, accumulating earlier than other countries will have a significant advantage in years to come. These bitcoin reserves will be beneficial for carrying out public capital expenditures and aiding the private sector through serial reforms.

Whenever a new investment opportunity knocks on a countrys doors, it has the potential to have an entire ecosystem built up around it. Same is true for bitcoin. It will give rise to new entrepreneurs, new start-ups, new businesses, new innovations, new products and services, new consumers, and altogether new markets. It happened with the internet and smartphones.

It is happening with other technologies like AI and IoT. It is happening with blockchain technology and Bitcoin in some countries like Singapore, Germany, and Switzerland. Hence, it makes eminent sense to let bitcoin flourish in a regulated environment around the world. This philosophy may run contrary to the rebellious roots of some Bitcoin enthusiasts who strive to challenge the current financial system. But lets be practical here. If bitcoin has to reach a population of 1.3 billion people like India, it will only happen through appreciation, acceptance and minor adjustments.

Coming to a common Indian individual, giving them access to invest in bitcoin through regulated channels will help increase their purchasing power. Currently, per capita income is just over $2,000 which is significantly lower than in other developed countries. Also, average retail investors are not allowed to have access to open global high performing markets, secluding them to limited options in Indias equities and commodities markets.

If the Indian government classifies bitcoin as a good/commodity/currency, a population of 1.3 billion will get access to store their wealth in the hardest money resulting in an increase in overall per capita income over time. More importantly, providing access to the hardest money will help maintain a base level of demand during critical times like recession or economic slowdown. Even today, 190 million people in India are unbanked, with the help of bitcoin these people can have access to money management like savings and transacting.

Bitcoins on-chain growth will give rise to multiple Bitcoin companies on second/third-layer solutions. With open Indian Bitcoin regulations, it will create many significant Bitcoin innovations and also create a plethora of Bitcoin-related jobs in technological engineering, marketing, etc.

India can take a proactive approach toward bitcoin by first accepting the innovation and later recognizing it. This will help India achieve the status of a $5 trillion economy, or maybe beyond.

In conclusion, it is fair to say, very soon, that bitcoin will help India be more visible and we can become the powerhouse that we have the potential to be. Coupled with our aim to integrate financial inclusivity, we will be unstoppable, as far as booming economies go.

This is an op ed by Sumit Gupta. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Inc.

Read the original here:

How Bitcoin Adoption Will Help India Achieve Its $5 Trillion... - Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin began its year on a negative note. Its price fell below $7,200 on the second day of the year. The much-awaited Santa Claus rally didnt materialize for the worlds largest cryptocurrency as the optimism fueled by the holiday spirit did not really catch up with the coins price.

However, soon, the price did rebound. Bitcoin jumped by over 2% on the third day of 2020 as it entered its eleventh year. Following a strong upward movement against the U.S Dollar, the coin was valued at $7,363 with a market cap of $133 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to hold a market dominance of over 68.5%

Despite such setbacks, Bitcoin continues to be the king as the coins trading dominance was recorded to be above 40%. In the latest December Markets Overview, Binance Research revealed that Bitcoins trading dominance for the month was 40.48%. The figures, however, had declined by 1.28% since November, a month when it registered a trading dominance of 41.76%. Binance Research defines Bitcoin trading dominance as the respective volume contribution from Bitcoin trading, with BTC as a base currency, relative to the total spot volume on a platform [e.g., Binance] over a period of time.

Binances report highlighted,

Bitcoin trading dominance remained above the 40% mark in December [40.48%], a slight decrease [-1.28%] from 41.76% in November. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin market dominance increased slightly from ~ 67% to ~ 68%.

The yearly low for this metric was recorded at 11% in March 2019. Overall, the figures largely remained positive as it gradually rose shortly after. Bitcoins monthly trading dominance rose significantly in August to 45.06%, a figure which happens to be its yearly high. This occasioned with Bitcoins price surge to over $12k. The figures, however, fell to 39.88% in October and coincided with Bitcoins price falling below $8.5k in the same month.

Go here to see the original:

Bitcoin records trading dominance of over 40% on Binance - AMBCrypto