David Marcus, the head of Facebook's cryptocurrency projects, on Wednesday said that Bitcoin is digital gold, but it's not a good currency for transactions.

"I don't think of Bitcoin as a currency. It's actually not a great medium of exchange because of it's volatility," Marcus said speaking at the New York Times DealBook Conference in New York. "I see it as digital gold."

Marcus said Bitcoin is like gold because you can hold on to it as an investment just as people do with actual gold, but the drastic upswings and dips that Bitcoin goes through makes it a bad option for people who need a system to send remittances across borders.

That is a key market that Facebook is targeting with its Libra cryptocurrency and Calibra digital wallet. Unlike Bitcoin, libra's value will be tied to currencies like the U.S. dollar and the Euro, which will help it remain stable.

Marcus said a key reason that Bitcoin has not been regulated out of existence is because it is not perceived to be a medium of exchange.

"It's an investment class that's decorrelated from the rest of the market," Marcus said. "Why feel threatened by that?"

Marcus has been the face of Facebook's libra cryptocurrency and Calibra digital wallet since the company announced the two projects in June. Since then, he has made multiple public appearances, including a hearing before the U.S. Senate, in an effort to spur support for Facebook's cryptocurrency endeavors.

"People don't use a unit like digital currency of Bitcoin to pay for things just because it's so volatile," Marcus said. "It serves a completely different purpose."

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Facebook crypto boss: 'I don't think of Bitcoin as a currency' - CNBC

As you are likely aware, Bitcoin (BTC) hasnt done too well over the past two-odd days. Since Friday, the cryptocurrency has shed 6% of its value, tanking from $9,250 to $8,700 in a strong move lower that came after nearly two weeks of bullish consolidation above $9,000.

Despite this relatively mild price action, which wasnt exactly a move that slaughtered bulls per se, a number of traders have flipped bearish. Bloomberg, for instance, wrote that there is a likelihood that if the bearish pressure persists for a little more, Bitcoin will trend all the way back to $7,300 back where it was prior to the most recent swing upwards.

This sentiment, according to a number of analysts, is irrational.

Popular crypto trader Mayne recently noted that the people waiting for $6,000 are irrational. He quipped that Bitcoin retracing and consolidating after its fourth-biggest bull move in history ($7,300 to $10,500, a 42% gain) is perfectly par for the course, but noted that its totally possible we can go lower from $8,800.

Crypto Michael echoed this line. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange trader poked fun at the euphoria that bears have had over the past days, accentuating the irrationality of the claims that a retest of the lows is on its way, especially in the context of the recent 42% gain:

I do remember bears being euphoric with a $1000 dropdown on a daily candle, now they are euphoric with a $300 retrace after one of the most bullish candles in the history of bBTC.

Delphi Digital has corroborated this sentiment with data. Per previous reports from NewsBTC, the prominent cryptocurrency markets research firm found that there is a confluence of evidence suggesting that Bitcoin found a trend bottom at $7,300 two weeks ago.

One of their tidbits of evidence is that Bitcoins volume profile, the amount of cryptocurrency that was traded, has printed clear signs that a bottom is in. More specifically, the market printed signs of weak volume (capitulation), a short accumulation at the bottoming range, then a surge out of accumulation into a potentially new bull phase.

They added that they currently see the cryptocurrency market very tied to risk assets, like the S&P 500. With risk assets setting new all-time highs on Friday after a strong jobs report and a potential trade deal, it could be said that BTC will surge higher with the risk assets.

Indeed, the cryptocurrency long-term charts and signals still seem to be implying that medium to long-term upside is highly likely.

Asreported by NewsBTC previously, Trader HornHairs has noted that he likes the chance we hit $14,000 before $7,000. He remarked in a recent tweet that with Bitcoin bouncing strong and holding above the one-month bullish breaker, the 0.618 Fibonacci Retracement of the entire cycle, the Point of Control as defined by the volume profile, and the yearly pivot, BTC is leaning rather bullish.

Also, trader and CoinTelegraph contributor FilbFilb found that by the end of November or start of December, the 50-week and 100-week moving averages will see a golden cross, which he claims is far more significant for the Bitcoin market that other technical crosses.

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Is Bitcoin Really Doomed? Analysts Skeptical of Bear Bias After $400 Drop - newsBTC

One company thinks it knows how to get a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved by U.S. regulators.

Wilshire Phoenix, a relatively young financial firm in New York, filed to launch theUnited States Bitcoin & Treasury Investment Trust ETF in May with NYSE Arca. At that point, a dozen bitcoin ETF proposals had already been swatted down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including nine in one day. But unlike other ETF applications, Wilshire Phoenixs ETF will invest in both bitcoin and U.S. Treasury securities, commonly referred to as T-bills.

The SEC is currently reviewing the application.

Our proposed bitcoin-related ETF is quite different from those that have previously been submitted to the Commission for approval, Wilshire Phoenix founder and managing partner William Herrmann said in a phone interview. To name just a few distinctions, the composition of the Trust is very different. Our Trust is a multi-asset trust (bitcoin and T-Bills), as opposed to just bitcoin.

The SEC has long been hesitant to approve an ETF with exposure to digital assets, citing the markets relatively young age and the possible risks to investors. The agency has rejected a number of proposals, while other applicants haveproactively withdrawn their filings.

Herrmann says the Wilshire ETF has several mechanisms to address these concerns.

The Trust itself will automatically rebalance itself monthly to address possible concerns about bitcoins price volatility, Herrmann explained. Essentially, if bitcoins price volatility increases, the index will reduce its exposure to the cryptocurrency and instead increase its exposure to Treasury bills. As bitcoins volatility falls, the opposite occurs.

The weighting will be transparent, with the index being shown on Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters portals, he said.

The CMEs Bitcoin Reference Rate will provide the data for bitcoins price in the Trust, rather than use an in-house price method or one from any related party, he added.

Wilshire Phoenix is also hoping to address SEC concerns about market manipulation by using a surveillance sharing agreement, one component the regulator stressed was needed when rejecting a recent bitcoin ETF application. Herrmann said:

The CME has surveillance sharing agreements with both the CME futures market as well as the relevant portion of the spot market that forms the basis for the Trusts bitcoin values. This addresses the SEC concerns about the lack of surveillance sharing agreements with the relevant spot market, which is something previous applicants have not been able to address.

Most recently, the SECdenied Bitwise Asset Managements fund. Ina whopping 112-page order published Oct. 9, the regulator said surveillance-sharing agreements were necessary and market manipulation remains a real concern.

As recently as September, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said that while progress has been made in the space,the market manipulation question had not been resolved.

For Wilshire Phoenixs proposal, the SECbegan accepting comments on the proposal in June, though a final decision is still months away. The agency is currently accepting comments on the proposal through Nov. 12, 2019.

Herrmann is optimistic about the ETF proposals chances, saying we developed the ETF consistent with investor protection as well as fair, orderly and efficient markets.

SEC image via Shutterstock

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The SEC Has Rejected Every Bitcoin ETF. This Firm Thinks It Has a Solution - Coindesk

The payments processing company, Square, released a letter outlining in detail their financial outcome for Q3 in 2019. The sales of Bitcoin through the Cash App were shown to have increased by 245% relative to the same period in 2018. Additionally, sales have reached $148 million, an all-time high.

These numbers follow the pattern of growth for Bitcoin throughout the year. Both the network hash rate and the number of wallets have increased significantly. More specifically, the former reached an all-time high in October.

The price of Bitcoin, however, is undergoing a rapid decrease. We believe it will begin to reverse once it reaches the previous descending resistance line around $8600.

Crypto trader @scottmelker stated that the Bitcoin price is at the bottom of its trading range, very close to the previous resistance line.

However, he is using the logarithmic chart. Since the price has decreased slightly below the logarithmic line, we will use the regular chart instead.

The October 26 rapid increase cause the Bitcoin price to break out above the descending resistance line that had been in place since June 24.

Todays decrease has caused the price to almost reach and validate it. This is a very common movement after breakouts.

Additionally, this area coincides with the 0.5 fib level of the entire upward move beginning in April.

Looking at the moving averages (MA), the price has just fallen below the 200-day MA, which had been offering support since the rapid increase of October 26.

The resistance line also coincides with the previous resistance area turned likely to support, further increasing the possibility that the price will validate the resistance line and move upward.

Therefore, this makes it a very likely area for the beginning of a reversal.

Disclaimer: This article is not trading advice and should not be construed as such. Always consult a trained financial professional before investing in cryptocurrencies, as the market is particularly volatile.

Images courtesy of TradingView, Twitter.

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Where Will Bitcoins Rapid Decrease End? Analyst Outlines Reversal Areas - BeInCrypto

Bitcoin (BTC/USD), the most dominantcryptocurrency, reverses Saturdays dead cat bounce from two-week lows of 8,668.60 as the sellers return in early Sunday trading. The recent profit-taking rally in the coin lost legs, as the technical charts painted a bearish picture amid a generalized downbeat tone seen across the crypto space so far this Sunday. At the time of writing, the No. 1 coin holds the lower ground near 8,750 region, down over 0.50% on the day while its market capitalization decreased slightly from $ 160.12 billion to $ 159.13 billion.

Technically, the spot extends its range play in a potential ascending triangle formation, now teasing the pattern breakdown, as it flirts with the rising trendline (pattern) support at 8,758. The selling pressure will intensify on the breakdown, opening floors towards a retest of the two-week lows reached last Friday. A failure to resist the last, the bears will target the next support at 8,600 (round number), below which the pattern target near 8,575 will come into play. The downside appears more compelling, as the price trades below all the key hourly Simple Moving Averages (HMA). Meanwhile, the hourly Relative Strength Index (RSI) has turned flat just below the midline, backing the bearish bias.

Should the coin manage to recover above the 21-HMA at 8,797, the bulls may attempt another run towards the 8,870 level, the confluence of the bearish 50-HMA and horizontal trendline (pattern) resistance.

All in all, the risks remain to the downside, as the weekend love appears to fade.

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Bitcoin price analysis: Teasing ascending triangle breakdown, eyes on $ 8,600 - FXStreet

Switzerland has always been at the forefrontwhen it comes to big money. It should come as no surprise that the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology in real-world use-cases is occurring in this country. Now, two financial behemoths are joining forces to write another chapter in this book.

Bitcoin Suisse AG, which is one of the oldest crypto-focused financial providers, signed a letter of intent with Worldline, a Swiss-based nationwide payment processor. The infrastructure of SIX Payment Services (85,000 merchants are on board), which has been part of Worldline since 2018, will act as thetechnical basis for the upcoming cooperation. Bitcoin Suisse willoffer cryptocurrency payments to Swiss merchants and consumers both in-storeand online.

According to Marc Schluep, CEO of Worldline in Switzerland, the conversion risks and costs elimination are a crucial part of this collaboration:

'We have a reputation to introduce latest payment functionalities that enhance the customer journey as well as boost efficiency and profitability for our merchants', added Mr. Schluep.

Some additional details abouttheir cooperation will be disclosed atthe upcoming Swiss Payments Forum in Zurich.

Switzerland is among the pioneers of both crypto development and mass adoption. Currently, Switzerlands Crypto Valley is a vast complex of800+ teams working on solutions or offering services to blockchain companies. In 2016, the city of Zug was the first to start accepting Bitcoins as a form of payment in the public sphere.

Thus, the seamless cryptocurrency payments solution will be welcomed by both traditional point-of-sale users and e-commerce agents. If successful, Bitcoin Suisse and Worldline plan to expand this interactive framework throughout the rest ofEurope.

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Bitcoin Suisse Partners with Worldline for Increasing BTC Adoption in PoS and E-Commerce - U.Today

INDIA - 2019/08/30: In this photo illustration a popular decentralised digital currency Bitcoin logo ... [+] seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Bitcoin and other major are facing a big test this Thanksgiving season, which could determine the next major moves in cryptocurrency markets.

Thanksgiving season is a special season for Americans. Its a time to get together with friends and family, enjoy a nice meal, and talk about current events, including hot investments.

That adds to the hype for these investments, as their price movementsmore fullyreflect swings in investor emotions rather than changes in fundamentals.

That could perhaps explain why Thanksgiving season has been a time of wild swings in speculative assets.

koyfin_20191107_075113071

Like the swings in the dotcom and network stocks back in the late 1990s, and Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies in the last couple of years.

Bitcoins track record during the Thanksgiving season is mixed, according toChristel Quek,Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer at BOLT.Global. In 2017 for example, investors made considerable losses in the build-up to the holiday before it surgedfrom just over $6,000 to more than $19,200 by 17thDecember, whilst more recoveries occurred after Christmas and New Years Day, she says. In 2018, these numbers were around 80% lower in what was a very volatile November as markets struggled to rally after a big sell-off. Now currently trading around $9,300, it is extremely unlikely that Bitcoin will reach the highs of two years ago, and instead continue downwards to around $6,000 in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving.

Whats after that?

Following this, we could expect prices to rally again but to around the $7,500 mark as Bitcoin prepares for the build-up to Christmas and will likely stay around that value until the start of 2020, he says.

Alex Lam, CEO & Co-Founder of RockX's,is encouraged by the positive policy developments surrounding cryptocurrencies in countries like US and China."As influential countries continue to produce positive policies in favor of digital currencies, such as in places like the US and China, Bitcoin's price may surprise people at any time, he says.

What doesthismean for cryptocurrency prices?Lam sayst is hard to pinpoint where exactly Bitcoin will be, come Thanksgiving, asBitcoin can be strongly influenced by central government policies.If I were to predict, I would say that Bitcoin will remain with the 7,500 USD - 9,500 USD bracket by the time we reach Thanksgiving,he concludes.

We will know for surein a couple of weeks.

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Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, LTC, And XLMs Next Big Test: Thanksgiving Season - Forbes

Weiss Crypto ratings recently suggested that Cardano (ADA) has performed admirably in solving safety and liveness issues, doing so in a much better fashion than Ethereum.

Nevertheless, the foundation was recently entangled in a controversy, when a debit card was announced, called Cardano Gold. It allegedly offers the best conversion rates, supporting BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, and DOGE.

The Cardano foundation, however, stated that the card is not associated with them, and their use of the Cardano trademark is illegal.

The ADA price along with BCH has been trading in a range for a significant period of time. According to our analysis, BCH will be the first one to break out.

Crypto trader @ColdBloodShill stated in a tweet that out of all the major altcoins, BCH and ADA have had the longest time in which they have traded in a range.

The other major coins in the comparison are LTC, EOS, TRX, and XRP. LTC and EOS have been trading sideways for 88 and 60 days, respectively, while TRX and XRP broke their range after 58 and 38 days.

Lets take a closer look at BCH and ADA and see who will be the first one to break out.

BCH has been trading inside a range between 0.026 and 0.033 for the past 118 days. This represents a price movement of 25%.

There have been multiple touches of both the resistance and support areas. The price is currently trading in the resistance area.

Looking at the longer-term time-frame, we can see that the support and resistance areas both coincide with previous significant areas.

Additionally, the movement inside the current range has been combined with a very significant bullish divergence in the RSI and a bullish cross in the MACD.

This makes us think that BCH will soon break out from the current range and heads toward 0.04. This belief is strengthened by the creation of last weeks bullish engulfing candlestick.

ADA has been trading inside a range for a shorter time than BCH, more specifically 90 days. However, the price movement has been more volatile, since ADA has been moving in a range of 32%.

Additionally, the longer-term outlook for ADA looks different.

First, the support range comes at an all-time low, instead of at a significant level as in BCH.

Second, there is no bullish divergence in the RSI. Instead, the RSI has made a double bottom in oversold levels. A bullish cross in the MACD followed shortly after.

While ADA also looks like it will move upwards, it could continue trading inside the current range for several weeks.

Disclaimer: This article is not trading advice and should not be construed as such. Always consult a trained financial professional before investing in cryptocurrencies, as the market is particularly volatile.

Images courtesy of TradingView, Twitter.

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Predicting Whether Cardano or Bitcoin Cash Will Break From Their Trading Range - BeInCrypto

Its Friday, and Bitcoin price is once again falling, breaking below $9,000 and trading at $8,750 currently.

According to one legendary trader, where an asset closes on a Friday can often predict the future performance of the asset. Is there any truth to the theory that could benefit crypto traders? Recent performance appears to suggest theres validity to support the idea.

Investors and traders of crypto assets like Bitcoin, or any financial asset for that matter, often use detailed fundamental and technical analysis to attempt to predict the future performance of the asset theyre interested in.

Related Reading | Gann Theory Suggests Bitcoin Price at Do or Die Moment, Important Pivot Ahead

However, theres also a smaller subset of analysts that use other alternative and more unorthodox methods to gain an advantage in the market. One such method involves paying close attention to specific dates and points in time as an indicator of future price movements, and where the price of an asset closes on Fridays may be among one of the most useful indicators yet.

William Delbert Gann was a legendary stock market and commodities trader born in the late 1800s, long before computer programs offering technical analysis software or trading bots were ever invented. Instead of relying on adding indicators and buy or sell signals to TradingView charts, Gann would instead use geometrical shapes, math, and even astrology to predict future movements in financial assets.

His beliefs were that all markets were cyclical and that certain planetary alignments would occur on natural dates that would ultimately impact market behavior through the emotional state of the markets participants.

Using these simple yet unorthodox tools, Gann was able to accurately predict the tops and bottoms of markets, and earn himself legendary status as a trader.

Another time-and-date-based theory, and among the key principles of Gann theory, is the idea that if a low is set on a Friday, the assets price will trade either much lower the following week. The same is true for highs set on a Friday, where the price of the asset is expected to trade higher the following week.

It sounds both simple and unrealistic, however, the past major moves in Bitcoin markets appear to back up the theory, or at least give it additional credence and validity.

In the chart above, the last five Fridays in Bitcoin markets can be seen. The first Friday depicted, on October 11, was not the high for the week. However, the following Friday set the low for that week, and as Ganns principles suggest, the Bitcoin price traded much lower in the days following.

Thats until Chinese President Xi Jinping made a surprise statement in support of blockchain technology, causing a massive surge in Bitcoin price on Friday, October 25. With the high set on a Friday, as Ganns theory predicted, Bitcoin traded much higher the following week.

The next Friday, November 1, failed to set a low nor a new high for that week, and Bitcoin continued to consolidate. Once again, today, Friday, November 8, Bitcoin has fallen and set a new low for the week, which if Ganns theory continues to play out, much lower prices would be expected during next weeks trading session.

In addition to date-based predictions, Gann also developed such technical indicators as the Square of Nine,the Hexagon Chart, and the Circle of 360. While his theories may be strange and outside of the norm, they earned the trader an iconic reputation, and his tools are often used even today.

Related Reading | Can Ancient Math Predict the Next Bitcoin Top at $220K?

The next time as a crypto trader you wake up and think yourself TGIF, remember it may be the best day to watch for the perfect entry ahead of the new week of price action.

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TGIF: Do Fridays Foretell Future Movements in Bitcoin Price and Other Crypto? - newsBTC

BTC sentiment is a key market driver. Following Xi Jingpings positive comments on blockchain a narrative that the news will drive price growth has emerged. A look at search trends between Bitcoin, gold, and China provides additional insight.

In the October issue of the Bitcoin Monthly Outlook Delphi analysts tried to explain the summer price collapse in BTC by analyzing the change in sentiment toward the coin. They point out that the rally was correlated with the resurgence of the digital gold line of thinking. Growth in this particular keyword combination was aided by Grayscales Drop Gold campaign beginning May.

Delphi follows this trend by using Google searches of Bitcoin + gold, which shows a nice rally leading into June followed by a loss of public interest and a subsequent collapse in price.

Search History: Google Trends / BTC Price: Coin Gecko

Taken further, the idea suggests that by following retail interest in a trend that its possible to explain and possibly even predict the price movement for BTC.

The most recent such macro trend has been Chinas change in its stance on blockchain. The market appeared exuberant after Chinas General Secretary Xi Jinping made a positive statement on blockchain but did the narrative take hold?

Taking a look at Google trends data for Bitcoin + China, a spike in searches is observable around Oct. 9 well in advance of the announcement. This coincided with Biances announcement of its P2P Trading platform that accepted yuan. Soon thereafter, interest in the China topic appeared to subside. Not only that, the statement from Chinas General Secretary did not increase search volume by much.

Search History: Google Trends / BTC Price: Coin Gecko

This suggests that the retail public did not buy into the China narrative. And while crypto insiders hyped up the announcement it seems that new money remained unconvinced. This means that China may not be the catalyst that the market needs for a sustained increase in Bitcoins price.

DISCLOSURE

Authors at Crypto Briefing are invested in cryptocurrencies. The author of this post may be invested in digital assets mentioned here.

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Did Xi Jinping Impact the Price of Bitcoin? - Crypto Briefing