Daily Archives: September 16, 2021

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Once a cumbersome, niche currency touted in the internet's dark corners by technophiles and privacy advocates, Bitcoin has become an investment asset you can buy and sell in seconds through popular money services like Venmo, Robinhood and Cash App.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent bailout, Bitcoin was imagined as a digital alternative to fiat currency that allows users to circumvent the authority of banks and governments. But as cryptocurrency continues to soar in popularity -- and becomes increasingly entangled in finance and commerce -- it may no longer be able to escape Uncle Sam's watchful eye. We break down some of the basic dynamics below.

It's Bitcoin's ability to transfer value -- without verification from a bank or government -- along with the sheer amount of money now involved that has aroused lawmakers' interest. Over time, and usually in the wake of an economic disaster, the US has codified a complex rulebook governing most types of financial transactions in order to protect the public, discourage fraud and insulate the economy from bubbles, any unhealthy concentrations of risk and other perils. But the speed at which crypto is absorbing the interest and capital of American investors is pushing the issue to the forefront in some corners of Washington.

In August, Congress passed an infrastructure spending package funding the improvement of old roads and bridges, expanding high-speed internet access and taking measures to address clean drinking water and climate change. But an earlier draft included some significant provisions concerning the legislation of cryptocurrency. Of particular note was a proposition that would have required so-called "crypto brokers" to report tax data to the IRS, just like brokers of other assets such as stocks, bonds and commodities.

Ultimately, the cryptocurrency provision was cut from the spending package due to disagreements about the definition of who could reasonably be categorized as a crypto "broker." Lawmakers could not come to a consensus about whether or not to include crypto miners, transaction validators and software developers.

As a modest collection of existing laws, as well as current proposals in Congress (including H.R. 1628 and H.R. 3723), continue to coalesce into an informal legal framework, the crypto exchanges -- most prominently Coinbase -- have emerged as a focal point of Washington's interest.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has become one of the more outspoken voices advocating government regulation of cryptocurrency. Before Biden tapped Gensler for his current role, Gensler was a professor at MIT, where he taught a course on cryptocurrency.

On Sept. 7, Coinbase was set to launch Lend, its new crypto-lending platform. But the exchange quickly scrapped its plans as the SEC threatened to sue, claiming that it traffics in unregulated securities.

The SEC announcement on Lend came one month after Gensler sent a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In it, he clarified the SEC's position on crypto legislation -- that more resources are needed to help investors, transactions, products and platforms -- and expressed a desire for additional legislation and authority.

"The world of crypto finance now has platforms where people can trade tokens and other venues where people can lend tokens ... I believe these various platforms not only can implicate the securities laws; some platforms can also implicate the commodities laws and the banking laws. This raises a number of issues related to protecting investors and consumers, guarding against illicit activity, and ensuring financial stability," wrote Gensler.

On Sept. 14, Gensler further addressed crypto concerns in a Congressional hearing where Gensler outlined SEC upcoming priorities, as well as the SEC's oversight of crypto assets.

Gensler said he believes crypto can foster change, but without regulatory oversight, he questioned its longevity. His prepared remarkssuggest that the SEC will continue to scrutinize the sale of tokens, trading and lending platforms, stable value coins, crypto derivatives, custody of crypto assets and more.

"We're working with our sibling agency, the [US Commodity Futures Trading Commission], as our two agencies each have relevant, and in some cases, overlapping jurisdiction in the crypto markets," said Gensler in his remarks. "We're working with not only the CFTC, but also the Federal Reserve, Department of Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and other members of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets on these matters."

Gensler also pointed to his perspective on the SEC's purview when it comes to securities -- including cryptocurrency: "Make no mistake: To the extent that there are securities on these trading platforms, under our laws they have to register with the Commission unless they qualify for an exemption," said Gensler in his remarks.

Earlier this week, a fake press announcementpurporting to be from Walmart on partnering with Litecoin, one of the lesser-known cryptocurrencies, resulted in Litecoin's value skyrocketing to over $200 before media outlets were able to confirm the news was false. Litecoin eventually returned to its former value, but it's possible that the scam netted the perpetrators -- who were positioned to buy low and sell high -- a significant profit.

Pump-and-dump schemes are common in the cryptocurrency industry and are giving lawmaker's plenty of ammunition for their arguments for crypto regulation. In fact, the frequent use of cryptocurrency in high-profile ransomware on American businesses both large and small -- as well as government entities -- has raised the hackles of legislators, as the ransoms paid in cryptocurrency are generally much harder for authorities to track and to recoup money paid.

Overall, Bitcoin remains largely unregulated as an asset in the US. While further legislation may ease some investor and regulatory fears over crypto's volatility and potential for crime-related transactions, Bitcoin -- for now -- is mostly disconnected from governments and conventional financial systems. Currently, most cryptocurrencies are decentralized and autonomous. If US lawmakers want crypto legislation with teeth, there will likely need to be significant coordination between international authorities -- which will be a significant challenge.

Despite the lack of an overarching federal or international regulatory framework, there are some crypto laws in place:

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Bitcoin, Venmo, Robinhood may see new nationwide rules: What to know - CNET

Cryptocurrency-related stocks including Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA) and Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ: RIOT) are trading higher Wednesday amid an increase in the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and positive analyst coverage from B. Riley Securities.

B. Riley Securities analyst Lucas Pipes maintained Marathon Digital with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $54 to $87. Pipes maintained Riot Blockchain with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $51 to $82.

The analyst's model now assumes a $45,000 Bitcoin price versus the prior assumption of a $35,000 Bitcoin price. The model was also adjusted to reflect higher miner costs. Despite higher costs, unit economics for digital mining remains "highly attractive," according to the analyst.

While these adjustments represent a large increase from our prior estimates, we believe our model is still conservative," Pipes said.

Marathon Digital is focused on mining digital assets. It owns crypto-currency mining machines and a data center to mine the digital assets.

Riot Blockchain is focused on building, supporting and operating blockchain technologies.

BTC, ETH Price Action: Bitcoin was up 2.71% over a 24-hour period and Ethereum was up 3.55% over a 24-hour period at publication time.

Photo: Quote Inspector from Flickr.

Latest Ratings for MARA

Sep 2021

B. Riley Securities

Maintains

Buy

Jun 2021

Compass Point

Initiates Coverage On

Buy

May 2021

B. Riley Securities

Initiates Coverage On

Buy

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2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Why Bitcoin-Related And Ethereum-Related Stocks Are On The Move Today - Yahoo Finance

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Bitcoin was trading 2.53% higher on Wednesday morning, shattering the $47,000 mark.

The price was around $47,120 per coin, while rivals Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading around $3,400 (+1.79%) and 24.2 cents (+1.46%) per coin, respectively, according to Coindesk.

Since last week when Bitcoin traded at $43,000 per coin, it has steadily risen to break $47,000 early Wednesday.

BITCOIN IN EL SALVADOR SPARKS CRYPTO CURRENCY DEBATE

In bitcoin news Tuesday, Miami's city commission on Monday voted in favor of accessing about $5 million worth of MiamiCoin, a Miami-specific cryptocurrency and counting.

For every MiamiCoin that people mine (or create) using a base cryptocurrency called Stacks, which has its own token, Miami gets funding that elected leaders can use to improve quality of life for city residents.

Bitcoin was trading 2.53% higher on Wednesday morning, shattering the $47,000 mark. (istock)

MiamiCoin the first CityCoin, a city-based token with plans to expand to other cities besides Miami, though CityCoin does not have a partnership with Miami. Instead, the cryptocurrency is completely community-sourced and community-driven.

In other bitcoin news, Billionaire Steven A. Cohen, owner of Major League Baseballs New York Mets, is set to invest in a new cryptocurrency trading firm, the latest bet on the digital-asset markets by a prominent Wall Street investor.

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The hedge-fund manager agreed to make an initial investment in Radkl, a quantitative-trading firm specializing in digital assets, according to the firms executives and a Cohen spokeswoman.

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Bitcoin above $47,000 level; Ethereum, Dogecoin higher as well - Fox Business

The bitcoin and crypto price bull run has stalled after its phenomenal rally in the first half of this yearwith some issuing stark warnings over bitcoin's prospects.

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The bitcoin price has failed to hold ground over $50,000 per bitcoin despite multiple attempts to pass the psychological barrier. Meanwhile, ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has also fallen away from its all-time high set in May.

Despite bitcoin's recent struggles, Cathie Wood, the chief executive of Ark Invest who's made a name for herself with big bets on bitcoin and Elon Musk's electric car company Tesla TSLA , has predicted the bitcoin price will hit $500,000 in just a few yearsand revealed her confidence in ethereum "has gone up dramatically."

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Ark Invest chief executive Cathie Wood is a long-time supporter of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as well as ... [+] bitcoin and cryptowith traders closely watching her bitcoin, ethereum and crypto price predictions.

"If we're right and companies continue to diversify their cash into something like bitcoin, and institutional investors start allocating 5% of their funds, we believe that the price will be ten-fold of where it is today," said Wood, speaking to CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Salt technology conference in New York. "So instead of $45,000, over $500,000."

In July, Wood joined Musk and Twitter's Jack Dorsey in a live discussion that saw the trio discuss bitcoin's potential as well as the merits of ethereum and the meme-based dogecoin.

Wood, who said she made price targets on a five-year timeline, named bitcoin as her top cryptocurrency as "countries are now deeming [bitcoin] legal tender," although she's also bullish on the ethereum price and sees the Ark portfolio split 60%, 40% between the two.

Earlier this month, El Salvador made history when it adopted bitcoin as its official currency alongside the U.S. dollar, sparking speculation other countries could follow suit. Some have suggested Ukraine could eventually adopt bitcoin after it moved to legalize it last week and a former prime minister of Malaysia has said his country should "encourage" crypto holders to invest in Malaysia.

Much of this year's crypto price surgethat's seen the combined crypto market soar from around $700 billion to over $2.1 trillionis due to rallies in ethereum and its many rivals that are jostling for market share.

"[Ethereum] is seeing an explosion in developer activity thanks to NFTs and DeFi," Wood said, referring to the digital collectible non-fungible token craze and an explosion in crypto-based decentralized financedesigned to recreate lending and interest without the need for banks.

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The bitcoin price has added over 300% since this time last year, with the price of ethereum soaring ... [+] even higher.

"I'm fascinated with what's going on in DeFi, which is collapsing the cost of the infrastructure for financial services in a way that I know that the traditional financial industry does not appreciate right now," said Wood. "Our confidence in ethereum has gone up dramatically as we've seen the beginning of this transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake."

Late last year, ethereum began a long-awaited transition away from the energy-intensive proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, designed to help ethereum scale and increase its efficiency. The upgrade won't be completed until 2022, however.

Wood, who sees the already sky-high valuation of Elon Musk's Tesla soaring in coming years, praised the dogecoin-loving billionaire. "[Musk is] a visionary and he sees the future so clearly," she said, predicting "explosive growth" and committing Ark to "nothing else but disruptive innovation."

"I do believe that both crypto and the equity markets are going to be powered by millennials," Wood added.

More:
$500,000 In Five YearsElon Musk And Tesla Devotee Cathie Wood Reveals Huge Bitcoin And Ethereum Price Predictions - Forbes

In 2008, a mysterious entity Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin (BTC) whitepaper.

In the document, they proposed a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.

But who is Satoshi? Nobody knows, even today.

Satoshi could be one person, or a group of developers or technocrats. The name is of Japanese origin, but the Bitcoin whitepaper is written in flawless English, leading people to infer Satoshi could be from an English-speaking nation.

Not only did Satoshi publish the Bitcoin whitepaper but they also created the software around the Bitcoin blockchain before disappearing in 2010.

Satoshis work came as a response to the 2008 global financial crisis, which saw numerous banks and financial institutions fail. With governments bailing them out at the expense of taxpayers, the crisis brought into focus the fragility of the existing, centralised financial system.

Bitcoin which proposed a form of payments that eliminated centralised entities like banks and governments was seen as a possible solution or alternative to the status quo.

In the 10 years since, Bitcoin has spearheaded the blockchain and cryptocurrency revolution across the world.

And in 2021, on April 14 to be exact, BTC reached an all-time high of $64,863 per token.

Why does Bitcoin have value? And what is it used for? Heres why the world is going gaga over this virtual currency.

Bitcoin is built on top of a blockchain, which is essentially a chain of blocks. When data is added over time in blocks, new blocks are built on top of previous ones.

Transactions are recorded on multiple computers or devices across the world (also referred to as nodes).

These characteristics make it impossible to retrospectively alter a block without altering all subsequent blocks.

Satoshi Nakamoto wrote in the whitepaper:

If a majority of computational power (51 percent and more) is controlled by nodes that do not harbour a malicious intent to cooperate to attack or corrupt the network, the Bitcoin blockchain grows longer and outpaces attackers.

This makes it a safe and secure platform for transactions to occur.

Further, the Bitcoin blockchain networks code has assigned a predictable issuance rate and upper limit.

The total number of BTC can never exceed 21 million. Almost 19 million BTC has been mined (or created) so far.

As BTC has limited supply, it is seen as a store of value and a hedge against inflation, similar to gold. It can also be used in transactions wherever it is accepted.

To understand why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dont have intrinsic value, and yet are valued at thousands of dollars, refer to this article.

How does the Bitcoin network really work? And how can transactions be made on the Bitcoin blockchain? Lets look at a simple example comparing regular financial transactions with Bitcoin transactions.

Conventionally, if User A wants to send Rs 1,000 to her friend User B, she notifies her bank (a centralised entity) by initiating the transaction. Once the bank verifies that User A has the necessary funds, it updates its database.

User As bank balance is reduced by Rs 1,000 while User Bs balance is increased by the same amount. In this example, we are assuming both users have the same bank.

For User A to send one Bitcoin to User B, they must broadcast a message in the network so that other nodes can see it.

The nodes, or the users, then set out to solve a puzzle set out by the protocol, which requires them to hash transactions and other information in the block.

This is referred to as mining, and those performing this task are called miners. The miners must keep hashing data (slightly modified each time) until a valid solution is found to the puzzle and then, a Bitcoin token can be sent to User B.

Finding a valid solution for the successful transfer of Bitcoin creates a new block, and generates a block reward (in Bitcoin) for the miner responsible.

Once the transaction is added to the Bitcoin blockchain, all other nodes can see and validate it, and update their copies of the ledger to reflect it.

At the same time, User As crypto wallet (where she stores her Bitcoin) is updated to show it has sent one Bitcoin, while User Bs wallet is updated to show it has received one Bitcoin.

Further, as the network knows about the transaction, User A cannot send the same Bitcoin to somebody else (known as double-spending).

For more information on the basics of blockchains and how transactions work, refer to this article.

So far, one of the major arguments against Bitcoin is the amount of energy expended in its creation.

The process of creating Bitcoin to hold, trade, or spend reportedly consumes 91 terawatts of electricity per year which is more than what Finland, a nation of 5.5 million, uses annually.

Nevertheless, BTC is seeing an uptake in adoption. In the last few weeks, the crypto world has been talking about the adoption of BTC as legal tender in the Central American country of El Salvador.

There, Bitcoin transactions work largely in the manner described in the above example. But there is an additional step designed to make BTC transactions more efficient the Lightning Network.

Traditionally, Bitcoins biggest challenge has been scalability. Owing to its distributed, decentralised design, the network can only handle around seven transactions per second and create additional blocks every 10 minutes.

In comparison, Visa can handle around 1,700 to 4,000 transactions per second on average (although it claims a far higher number).

As such, transaction speed isnt constrained by the main blockchains block limits or involve high transaction fees or slow settlement times.

The El Salvador government also launched an official Bitcoin wallet named Chivo for users to transact in BTC.

Going forward, it remains to be seen whether Bitcoin will continue to become legal tender in more underbanked countries like El Salvador, or largely remain a store of value.

As it is decentralised, censorship-resistant and borderless, it is increasingly becoming popular for international remittance and payments, allowing users to transact without revealing their identities.

Other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Dogecoin etc and their origins and use cases will be explained in future articles.

See the rest here:
What is Bitcoin? BTC origins, transactions, and other key features explained - YourStory

El Salvador president Nayib Bukele says the country will save $400 million a year in remittance fees by adopting bitcoin. That claim doesnt necessarily stack up.

A quick recap: The Central American country rolled out its bitcoin wallet app, called Chivo, on Sept. 7. Businesses are now obliged to accept the crypto token and the US greenback, which was already a national currency, for payments. Bukele seeded the wallets using taxpayer money with $30 worth of bitcoin to get things rolling. The president ishoping to attract a new generation of crypto entrepreneurs and to cut the expense of remittances, which are estimated to make up around 20% of gross domestic product.

Unfortunately for Salvadorans, there may not be a cost or time savings for remittances using bitcoin versus PayPal (via its Xoom offering) or Western Union, according to Jason Mikula, a fintech consultant. Mikula crunched the numbers for sending $200 from the US to El Salvador; his analysis assumes the sender is starting out in US dollars and traded them for bitcoin using Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange. (He notes that some crypto proponents assume the transaction starts out in bitcoin, which he suggests is unreasonable as most people hold their funds in fiat currencies.)

Exchanging $200 for bitcoin costs between $2.99 to $7.67 at Coinbase, depending on whether the transaction is funded using PayPal, ACH, or debit, Mikula says. The exchange may charge an additional spread for the transaction (the gap between the bid and offer prices for bitcoin on its exchange). Theres also a network fee (paid to the crypto miners who process transactions on a blockchain) to send bitcoin from Coinbase to a Chivo wallet in El Salvador, which runs around $3. El Salvadors bitcoin wallet lets users switch between the US currency and bitcoin at no cost.

By contrast, a person can send $200 from the US to El Salvador using Western Unions mobile wallet, called Tigo, at no cost and in minutes, according to the companys website. Mikula speculates that Western Union may be willing to eat the transaction costs (debit/credit interchange) because fewer remittances are sent this way. Western Union charges a hefty fee for transactions using physical cash: it costs $9 to $18 to send $200 in cash from the US to El Salvador. This is probably a popular way of sending money, as around 70% of the people there dont have a bank account.

Bukele is correct about at least one thing: Remittances are a critical lifeline for millions of people in El Salvador. Around 18% of households receive them, taking in an average of about $195 per month, according to a report from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise. They found that remittance costs there absorb about 2.95% of transactions, the lowest level of any nation in the Latin American-Caribbean region.

And they, too, found that sending remittances using bitcoins blockchain rails is more expensive than the systems already in place. Their analysis is partly based on the assumption that people in El Salvador want paper greenbacks, not bitcoin, and will have to pay up a crypto ATM to withdraw the hard currency. (They note that the coastal town of El Zonte, El Salvador, made bitcoin a local currency in 2019, but it didnt catch on.) At present, traditional transfer methods are the cheapest way to make remittance payments, they wrote.

Bukeles controversial bitcoin gamble has a number of serious risks for El Salvador, including the potential to undermine financial stability. That said, there could be some upside if the Chivo wallet succeeds in making digital payments and mobile wallets into the hands of the countrys vast majority that is unbanked. That infrastructure actually could reduce remittance costswithout using bitcoin.

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Remittances to El Salvador are cheaper without using bitcoin - Quartz

385 First Avenue and Ben Shaoul (Google Maps, Getty)

Three retail condominiums at 385 First Avenue are up for sale for $29 million. Theres just one catch: only Bitcoin will be accepted.

Magnum Real Estate Group is selling the property also known as CODA in partnership with brokerage Meridian Investment Sales and Bitpay, a cryptocurrency payment service, which will process the transaction.

The condos cover 9,000 square feet and are fully leased by ProHealth, Mighty Pita and M&T Bank. Two of the three leases were executed during the pandemic.

We believe given the trends in the markets, this is a great opportunity to introduce real estate, cash flow real estate, to investors in cryptocurrencies who are looking to diversify their investments, said Ben Shaoul, managing partner of Magnum Real Estate Group.

Magnum has been bullish on cryptocurrency in recent years, including Shaouls 2019 sale of an Upper East Side retail condo for $15.3 million in Bitcoin. As early as 2022, Shaoul said, he expects between five to 10 percent of Magnums deals to be transacted using cryptocurrency.

Sales using alternative forms of payment attract new buyers into the market, Shaoul said.

Its great to see new buyers, and new investors who are interested in learning about real estate as an alternative investment, Shaoul said.

The digital assets have minted a new class of millionaires in recent years, some of which have used crypto to add luxury real estate in hot markets like Miami and New York City to their portfolios, The Real Deals Isabella Farr previously reported. Though notoriously volatile, popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin also hold the possibility for massive spikes in value that could spark pots of wealth too big for brokers to ignore.

Cryptocurrency is a form of the treasury going forward, Shaoul said. Its not going anywhere.

Contact Sasha Jones

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385 First Ave requiring Bitcoin for retail condo sales - The Real Deal

The below is a direct excerpt ofMarty's Bent Issue #1076: "Yet Another Reminder That Many Bitcoin Critics Are Subpar." Sign up for the newsletter here.

via NYT

The above snippet comes from the Opinions section of the New York Times, and it is a stark reminder of just how bad many Bitcoin "critics" turn out to be. In his piece that dropped today, Binyamin Appelbaum claims that the gold standard - something humanity used for THOUSANDS of years - was disastrous, called private keys passwords, claimed that the US Government can easily brute force ECDSA and confiscate anyone's bitcoin, and that individuals don't use bitcoin in a non-custodial self-sovereign fashion because it is "too hard". A pretty impressive streak of objectively wrong statements.

The frustrating part isn't that Binyamin was so terribly wrong, it is that he was so very confident while spreading his fake news in the New York Times. Confident enough to exclaim that bitcoiners are nothing more than "Libertarian cosplay" participants. I usually wouldn't waste a day's issue of this dirty rag on one particular critique from a single New York Time Opinions piece writer, but pointing out the juxtaposition of this article with the New York Times' coverage of the Met Gala was irresistible.

The New York Times likes to paint itself as a leader pushing forward social justice and progressive values while speaking truth to power during chaotic times. However, if you look closely - particularly at this bitcoin hit piece and the Met Gala coverage - you will find that it's the New York Times that is engaged in cosplay and not bitcoiners.

Since January 3rd, 2009 bitcoiners have been working diligently; writing code, building businesses, educating, and erecting physical infrastructure to provide the world with a peer-to-peer digital cash system that will serve anyone who can access the software. In the process, the network has provided billions of unbanked and those already banked with the opportunity to access a digital app where they can store their wealth. Not only that, but the Bitcoin network gives you the ability to have an extremely high degree of certainty that your share of the overall network cannot be debased. The app has only gotten easier to use over time as more and more people are drawn to the network and work to make it more efficient and user friendly. The same can not be said for the incumbent monetary system, which is only getting harder to use.

As central bankers and governments around the world continue to lose their grip on the very interconnected monetary systems of the world - causing social in-cohesion - they are getting more serious about the monitoring of who is sending money to who and how much they can spend. A result of this is increased data collection and filtering that is making it harder for individuals to interact with the economy. It's getting harder to use in this technical sense, but it's also getting harder to use in a practical sense as the amount of overall units of money increases rapidly, pushing the prices of many good up as a result. Either completely boxing individuals out from the digital monetary system all together, or decreasing their quality of life materially by making things more expensive.

Bitcoin fixes this problem by giving individuals the world over an open and sound monetary system, yet the New York Times, which is supposed to be cheerleading the advancement of human rights, chooses to bash bitcoin while running this article during the same day...

Legitimate gushing over an elite costume party where celebrities and politicians alike signal their support for social justice while dawning outfits worth tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars with a full life cycle of 12-hours. And the wardrobe wasn't the only thing the celebrities at the Met Gala were waving in the face of the poors, they were also waving their actual maskless faces right in front of them too. Apparently if you adorn an outfit worth more than your average annual salary in the United States you are naturally immune to COVID. And as long as you signal your disdain for the state of the world by including political phrases like "Tax the Rich" and "Peg the Patricarchy" on your costume, you are absolved from not actually doing anything. That is enough effort. You can go on feeling good about yourself.

The funny thing is that Bitcoin is going to win in such a fantastic way because it is rooted in proof of work. A proof of work that the LARPing elites dependent on the Cantillon Effect cannot compete with in the long run. We're going to wake up one day, Bitcoin is going to be as easy to use as the mobile phone or laptop you are reading this rag on, the incumbent monetary system is going to be more burdensome and less reliable, and those who the progressives think they are helping are going to thank Satoshi for Bitcoin for providing them with the opportunity to build themselves a better life.

See original here:
Yet Another Reminder That Many Bitcoin Critics Are Subpar - Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin price started a steady increase above the $47,000 resistance against the US Dollar. BTC even broke $48,000 and it might continue to rise in the near term.

Bitcoin price started a steady increase above the $46,000 resistance level. BTC was able to clear the $47,000 resistance zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Finally, there was a clear break above the $48,000 resistance zone. The price traded as high as $48,481 and it is now consolidating gains. An immediate support on the downside is near the $48,000 level. There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support near $48,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin is also trading well above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $43,375 swing low to $48,481 high. An immediate resistance on the upside is near the $48,200 level.

The first major resistance is now near the $48,500 zone. To continue higher, bitcoin must clear the $48,500 resistance. If the bulls succeed, the price could easily rise towards the key $50,000 resistance in the near term. Any more gains may possibly set the pace for a move towards the $52,000 level.

If bitcoin fails to clear the $48,500 resistance zone, it could start a downside correction. An immediate support on the downside is near the $48,000 level and the trend line.

If the price breaks the trend line support, it could test the $47,400 support level. The next major support is near the $46,000 level or the 100 hourly simple moving average. It is also close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $43,375 swing low to $48,481 high.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD The MACD is slowly gaining pace in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is now well above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels $47,500, followed by $47,000.

Major Resistance Levels $48,200, $48,500 and $50,000.

The rest is here:
TA: Bitcoin Price Just Reversed and $50K Is Imminent, Here's Why - NewsBTC

Bitcoin price exuded bullishness over the past week as it continued to rally without significant corrections. As a result, Ethereum, Ripple and other altcoins have followed suit. Although the entire market looks bullish at the time of writing, things could turn awry if BTC witnessed a September 7-style crash.

Bitcoin price rose 12% over the past three days and is currently trading around $48,380. The resistance levels at $48,895 and $50,000 are major hurdles in bulls path. Therefore, the bulls need enough momentum to flip these blockades into support platforms for a smooth recovery to September 6 levels.

This move will push BTC into the Fair Value Gap (FVG) and suggest that the buyers might be vying for a retest of this ranges upper limit at $56,361. If this development is complete, it will represent a 16% ascent from the current position.

BTC/USDT 1-day chart

On the other hand, if BTC fails to maintain its buying pressure, a retracement to $46,833 seems likely. However, a breakdown of $44,705 will invalidate the bullish thesis.

Ethereum price consolidated between the $3,015 to $3,338 level for almost a month before it flew away from it and tagged the $4,000 psychological barrier. While this move was impressive, it was followed by the September 7 crash, undoing all the gains. However, the congestion seen between $3,015 to $3,338 helped limit the sell-off and kept ETH afloat.

Due to the recent uptick in big cryptos price, Ethereum price seems to be heading close to the FVG, ranging from $3,716 to $4,071. Investors can assume the smart contract token will retest the $4,000 level if the current bullishness remains.

In a highly bullish case, a flip of the $4,071 supply barrier into the demand floor will hint at a move toward an all-time high at $4,372.

ETH/USDT 12-hour chart

Regardless of the bullishness Ethereum price exudes, if the big crypto takes a tumble, investors can expect ETH to follow suit promptly. While breaching below the $3,345 might trigger another consolidation, it would not invalidate the bullish thesis.

However, creating a lower low below $3,223 will put an end to the optimism around ETH.

Ripple price set up a swing high on September 6 at $1.42 but failed to sustain the level as it was followed by a market-wide crash the next day. Due to this sell-off, XRP lost 25% of its value but managed to stay above the $1.05 support floor.

After a few days of consolidation, XRP price managed to bounce off this barrier and kick-start an uptrend. A 10% upswing from its current position will push Ripple to encounter the $1.23 resistance level.

Flipping this hurdle into a support level will open the remittance tokens path to the range high at $1.42. In a highly bullish case, XRP price might extend the ascent to retest the $1.66 and $1.83 ceilings.

XRP/USDT 1-day chart

While things seem to be going well for Ripple, a breakdown of the $1.05 support floor will invalidate the bullish thesis and scare the investors. This move will set up a lower low and might induce a sell-off to the subsequent demand barrier at $0.96.

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Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: BTC scales higher, taking altcoins with it - FXStreet