Daily Archives: June 2, 2021

New Delhi: Major crypto market tokens regained their initial gains on Monday. The cuts in daily prices have been marginal, but tokens including Cardano, Maker and XRP gained up to 10% per cent in the last 24 hours.

Prices of nearly all crytos tumbled after China Banking Association recently warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies. Murmurings of tighter regulations on digital tokens have put pressure on them. Despite such a massive crash, investors and traders continue to be bullish about cryptos.

Cryptocurrency market has been less volatile of late but major digital tokens are down by a third this month, weighed by growing regulatory pressures on the sector. Many digital currencies are trading at half of their peak after gaining in the beginning of this year.

Back home, leading domestic banks are clamping down on customers using bank accounts for cryptocurrency transactions. Major lenders such as HDFC Bank and State Bank of India have sent official notices to customers warning them of curbs, including permanent closure of accounts.

The move comes after the 'informal' diktat by RBI issued last week asked banks to stop dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. The move has seen major backlash from crypto exchanges and traders.

"The weekend was pretty steady with most major currencies moving northwards. We will see this behaviour continue as markets consolidate further and money in the ecosystem evens out. Over the next few days, we will see bitcoin dominance dip and most of that money to flow into Altcoins like ETH and BNB", said Edul Patel, CEO & Cofounder, Mudrex

Crypto prices as of 09:50 IST (Source: coinmarketcap.com)

The cryptocurrency is based on the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol but differs in terms of its hashing algorithm, hard cap, block transaction time along with a few other technical factors. LTC currently has a block time of just under 2.5 minutes and very low transaction fees, which makes it suitable for micro-transactions and POS payments.

Today, Litecoin is one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies, and more than 2,000 merchants and stores now accept LTC across the globe.

Technically, LTC, on the four hourly time frame, made a Hammer pattern (trend reversal pattern) at the support level of $117.58 and the prices started moving upwards making Higher Top Higher Bottom formation up to the resistance level of $208.98. Post this, the asset is consolidating and trading in a range from $160 to $200. Hence, breakouts on either side will further decide the trend of the asset.

Key levelsSupport: $117 and $155Resistance: $220 and $247

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Top Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Cardano, Ethereum, XRP gain up to 6% - Economic Times

New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham on todays markets, the reopening economy, cryptocurrencies and potential higher taxes under the Biden administration.

Miami is hosting the largest-ever cryptocurrency conference this week in a sign that what was once dismissed as a passing fad is now going mainstream.

The conference, which runs from June 3 to June 5 at the Mana Convention Center in Miamis Wynwood neighborhood, brings a host of reputable attendees including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has said he wants to make the city a crypto hub.

Financial data analysis graph showing global market trends. Selective focus. Horizontal composition with copy space. (iStock)

The conference was originally scheduled to run from April 30 to May 1 in Los Angeles but was changed to Miami amid concerns of Californias strict COVID-19 policies. The date was also changed back to allow time for the second wave of the virus to pass and allow vaccines to roll out.

BITCOIN CONTENDS WITH BIGGEST MONTHLY DROP ON RECORD

Conference organizers expect upwards of 50,000 attendees.

Though still small compared to its west coast counterparts, Miami has emerged as a major tech hub in recent years. The Wynwood neighborhood, in particular, has become a hub for arts, technology, and innovation.

Mayor Suarez told Fox Business in January he is looking into allowing citizens to pay taxes and fees to the city in bitcoin.

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"We want to be one of the most crypto-forward and technological cities in the country," he said. "So we're looking at creating a regulatory framework that makes us the easiest place in the United States to do business if you're doing it in cryptocurrencies."

Fox Business Catie Perry contributed to this report.

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Miami to host largest cryptocurrency conference in history - Fox Business

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday came out with an important clarification on cryptocurrency trade. The central bank said that banks cannot refer to its April 2018 circular to caution their customers against trading in cryptocurrencies.

The central bank said such references to its earlier circular by banks are not in order as it was set aside by the Supreme Court on March 4, 2020.

As such, in view of the order of the Honble Supreme Court, the circular is no longer valid from the date of the Supreme Court judgement, and therefore cannot be cited or quoted from, the RBI statement said.

Though the central banks statement is objective, it does give an indication that the stance towards cryptocurrencies is softening in India.

It comes at a crucial time as the government is in process of framing rules to either ban or regulate cryptocurrency trade in the country; the latter option is a preferred choice of most crypto traders and exchanges operating in the country.

Read | Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin inches closer to $37,000, Ether rebounds sharply

RBIs clarification will directly help crypto exchanges that have been facing a lot of bottlenecks in their negotiations with banks. Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO, WazirX, had recently told IndiaToday.in about banking hurdles with respect to crypto trade.

Nischal Shetty has welcomed RBI's statement and said it is a positive development for the entire crypto sector in India. He said banks will now have more clarity in dealing with crypto exchanges.

On Twitter, Shetty said, Its amazing to see RBI clarifying and helping solve uncertainty for Crypto in India. There are over 1.5 crore Indians in Crypto. This news has brought joy and confidence to everyone in the sector. Lets continue to build the Indian crypto ecosystem.

The RBI also asked banks and other regulated entities to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for KYC, anti-money laundering, combating of financial terrorism and obligations of regulated entities under PMLA, 2020 in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under FEMA for overseas remittances.

This, too, is a welcome move according to WazirXs Nischal Shetty as all exchanges providing cryptocurrency trade services to customers are up to date with all regulations.

RBIs statement is important as it is another indication that the government is looking to soften its stance on cryptocurrency trade and go for regulation rather than a ban. A few days ago, a report indicated that the government is planning to set up a new expert committee to re-examine all aspects of crypto trade.

An earlier committee headed by former finance secretary Subhash Garg in 2019 recommended a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trade. However, many within the government now feel that the suggestions of the committee have become outdated.

Given the recent developments, many crypto investors and exchanges feel that the government may not go for an outright ban on virtual coin trade in the country.

Earlier in March, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had asked companies to declare their cryptocurrency investments and was viewed as another indication that the government may consider the option to regulate cryptocurrency trade. Even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier told India Today that the government will not shut all options on cryptocurrencies.

Combining all these developments with the growing popularity of cryptocurrency trade in India, it is a high possibility. Regulating virtual coin trade instead of a complete ban could be the preferred choice of the government in view of the evolving circumstances.

Also Read | RBI clarification on Bitcoin and cryto trading, here are 5 key takeaways

A Business Standard report quoting sources in the RBI said allowing banks to carry out due diligence for crypto investors and users amounts to legitimising trading in the country.

They could have stopped after the first paragraph which said the April circular is no longer valid. But RBI went on to permit banks to carry out due diligence for crypto customers like any other legitimate activities that are allowed for the banks, a source quoted in the report said.

After the RBIs statement, people from the crypto domain say the central bank has cleared its stance on virtual coins and this will help make the industry stronger.

They also said that the cryptocurrency sector now needs a concrete set of guidelines from the government that will help in better regulation. For instance, there is a regulatory framework needed for taxing cryptos.

While creating a solid framework for cryptos will need more time, RBIs clarification is a big step in that direction.

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RBIs clarification on cryptocurrency: What it means for investors in India - India Today

WASHINGTONRegulators sued a group of cryptocurrency promoters who helped raise over $2 billion from investors with the promise of 40% monthly returns, in one of the largest cases ever brought over digital assets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued five individuals in Manhattan federal court over their promotion of BitConnect. The SEC said the men violated laws that required them to register as brokers and ran afoulof other investor-protection rules. It didnt accuse them of fraud.

The SECs lawsuit seeks to have the defendants give back the money they made and to pay civil monetary penalties.

BitConnect was a digital asset created in 2016 and sold in exchange for bitcoin, the worlds most valuable cryptocurrency. BitConnect told investors it would profitably trade their bitcoin using an automated trading bot and required the currencyto be locked up for terms ranging from four to 10 months, according to the SECs lawsuit. BitConnect eventually lost 92% of its value, and investors lost all or nearly all of their funds in the lending program, the SECs lawsuit said.Thousands invested in BitConnect.

The SEC sued BitConnect promoters Trevon Brown of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Craig Grant of Kissimmee, Fla., Ryan Maasen of Tulsa, Okla., and Michael Noble of Pacific Palisades, Calif. Regulators also sued Joshua Jeppesen of East Falmouth, Mass., who allegedly was a liaison between BitConnect and the promoters. Mr. Jeppesen also represented BitConnect at conferences and other events.

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SEC Sues Cryptocurrency Promoters Over Deal That Raised $2 Billion - The Wall Street Journal

As cryptocurrency melts down, the stocks of many crypto-related companies have followed. For some of them, significant resistance has formed above current trading levels. This could keep a top on them, at least in the short run.

They include Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), SOS Limited (NYSE:SOS), and BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (OTC:BBKCF).

See Also: Report Shows Over $2B Worth Of Bitcoin Bought During The Dip

The $28.75 level was support for Marathon Digital. Support levels can convert into resistance and that could happen here.

Many of the investors who paid $28.75now regret their decision because the price is lower. A number of these investors decide to sell, but they're reluctant to take a loss.

As a result, they place their sell orders at their buying price. In this case, it's $28.75. If there are enough of these sell orders, it will form resistance.

The $3.90 level was support for SOS. Now it is a resistance level.

For BIGG the resistance is at $1.80. Sellers at this level have kept a top on the price for a month.

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3 Cryptocurrency Stocks That May Not Rebound Soon - Benzinga

With a combined market cap in the trillions, cryptocurrencies are a force to be reckoned with. Public confidence in crypto waxes and wanes on a daily basis, as reflected in the volatility of the price. Cryptocurrencies are the ingenuity of technology. They are a new form of currency, but also a payment system, like credit cards. The users of cryptocurrency stored in their digital wallets can trade goods and services with it.

But this currency is very different from the familiar US dollar.

The dollar is printed by the US Mint. Cryptocurrency is generated within the currencys network, and for its users. The currency is digital, so it never leaves its network.

Unlike the dollar, which is backed by the US government, there is no centralized institution behind cryptocurrency to ensure the security of transactions, integrity, and dispute resolution. These are all built into the protocols of the network. Cryptocurrency is a far more efficient payment system, as a result.

The first cryptocurrency was bitcoin, the brainchild of its founder Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym) his real identity remains unconfirmed. He started the first trade on Jan. 3, 2009. Its price rose from pennies to $20,000/coin in 2017. Its market cap is $750 billion. It has no owners or spokesperson just like the internet.

Elon Musk has invested Teslas $1.5 billion cash in bitcoins this year.

There are over 7,800 different cryptocurrencies. Independent companies like Coinbase (COIN) are exchanges where one can buy cryptocurrencies for dollars. Coinbase went public this year and has a market cap of $50 billion.

This reveals the excitement of people who understand the crypto phenomenon.

The Business Model:

Starting a new cryptocurrency has become easy, but it is not a typical business because there is no profit-generating product or service. The originators of new cryptocurrency initially give themselves a large number of free coins. They publicly announce the new deal.

Then onwards the network runs by itself and the originators are out of the picture.

Independent entities set up nodes to verify transactions, by majority consensus. They are called miners. The miners deploy powerful computers to do the work.

Anyone can be a miner. Collectively, the miners are the new gatekeepers and managers of the network.

The miners get awarded newly minted coins and also get paid a commission by the seller for their work. They validate each new block of transactions by solving a complex mathematical problem whose solution requires high-speed power-hungry computers.

When irregularities happen, both unintentional and intentional, the miners take action to resolve the problem.

The Incentives:

The incentives of a cryptosystem are beautifully aligned and not based on mediation by a trusted third party. The originators, the users, the miners, and the disrupters can only benefit when the currency gains confidence and appreciates.

If a significant irregularity in the system is sensed, the miners can join hands to fork out to a new cryptocurrency path abandoning the old one while preserving older users wallets and transactions. This renders the loot of the new thieves worthless and deters cheating.

The Regulators:

Identifying and catching thieves of cryptocurrencies is non-trivial for normal law enforcement. But miners can derail the cheaters.

Is this sufficient?

The IRS also has problem collecting taxes on gains made by cryptocurrency sellers. The sellers buying price to compute gains is not always known, unless the seller bought it on a crypto exchange.

The Technology:

The technology behind bitcoin is blockchain. Transactions are grouped into blocks. Each new block is validated by a miner before it can be added to the blockchain. Every node maintains a full history of blocks in the ledger with timestamps, making the ledger tamperproof. Encryption ensures the anonymity of wallets. The internet and encryption have existed for decades. Satoshi added special protocols on top, for security, integrity, reliability, and dispute resolution.

What is the value of cryptocurrency if it is network generated?

Although the US dollar was initially backed by gold reserves, this is no longer true. The pieces of green paper have value because originally everybody thinks they have value initially, said Nobel Laureate in Economics, Milton Friedman.

Cryptocurrencies also have value if their users think they do.

A large percentage of cryptocurrency users are illicit business dealers.

However, many younger professionals are investing in it and witnessing a huge appreciation in value. The entire community is incentivized to keep the system kosher this is the belief.

There are many cryptocurrency billionaires typically the founders of these networks. That has created an interesting market of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) a blockchain-enabled technology proving unique ownership of digital assets a video clip of NBA superstar LeBron James dunking reportedly changed hands in April for $387,000.

But cryptocurrency systems remain hard to get our arms around. And because of the anonymity of its users, it is looked at with suspicion.

Cryptocurrency is legit in my opinion. Its landscape is evolving. It would be wise to invest in understanding it, to see where it lands. The technology is compelling enough to revolutionize fintech.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Witness the landing Cryptocurrency - The Times of India Blog

NEW DELHI: Major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ether gave up their gains on Thursday as environmental concerns rose due to cryptocurrency mining. Iran put a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining for the next four months as widespread power outages stirred public dissatisfaction across the country.

Randal Quarles, Vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, laid out on Wednesday, some of the major questions US financial regulators will need to tackle as they figure out how to best monitor the rapidly changing cryptocurrency landscape.

Cryptocurrencies are capable of "potentially much broader use" now, thanks in part to the introduction of so-called "stablecoins," which are pegged to more traditional currencies, he added.

Bitcoin is still down about 30 per cent so far this month while rival cryptocurrency Ether is about 42 per cent below its record. However, overall volume in the crypto market have been affected, analysts say.

"We are currently in a phase of consolidation and markets seem to have corrected slightly today. Overall, markets dipped by 4-5 per cent across the board. But this dip is not supported by volume, hence expect it to be temporary. This choppy behavior will continue for the next few months as we see the euphoria in the markets stabilize," said Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder, Mudrex.

As leading cryptos by market capitalization start to show signs of recovery, historically, altcoins have also followed suit in quick succession. Analysts advise investors to remain cautious, despite the belief that the market is likely to ride an upward trend over the next few days and potentially weeks.

While Bitcoin can process around six transactions per second, and Ethereum does around 25, the TRON network claims to have a capacity for 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). This project aims to become the leading decentralized platform, which is specialized in the domain of content sharing and entertainment. In 2018, it made its biggest acquisition when it took over BitTorrent.

Market capitalization and rank: $8.2bn (24)

For TRX to go further up, it needs to break and sustain above the resistance level of $0.096 whereas $0.069 should act as a crucial support level. The asset currently trades at $ .0782.

Time is in UTC and the daily time frame is 12:00 AM - 12: 00 PM UTC

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Top Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Bitcoin, Dogecoin and others retreat - Economic Times