Category Archives: Bitcoin

Bitcoin is not liked by everyone from the Island Council of Tenerife, Spain. At least thats what was suggested by its president, Pedro Martn, who ordered the sale of the local governments investment in cryptocurrency.

Martn, from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), issued the order of dismantling the investment made through the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER) in a previous administration, citing ethical reasons.

In detail, according to El Economista, the Island Council of Tenerifes president considers it an opaque currency that cannot be declared in the tax filings.

Although the president did not disclose the exact number of bitcoins (BTC) acquired by the council, it was reported that the liquidation could yield almost one million euros ($1.17 million), which could be around 20 BTC.

During an interview with a local radio of the Canarias Islands, Martin said the council realized an audit of the 70 public companies related to the local government. With such findings, the president believed it was not ethical that public entities are dealing with cryptocurrencies.

Martin told El Economista:

I was surprised by the possibility that we could have a bitcoin bank at ITER, a kind of possibility to have a warehouse. These are very strange situations. Thats not one of the biggest problems: bitcoins. This is part of a series of problems that we have been encountering. () I believe that it is a currency that is not accountable to the treasury. I do not think it is appropriate for a Cabildo of the island to manage it.

In the same line, Enrique Arriaga, the Island Council of Tenerifes vice president, expects that inquiries on the alleged irregularities with ITER could be clarified soon and the role of the BTC investments in the alleged wrongdoings.

The reaction on social networks to Martins statements came fast. Specifically, Isidro Quintana, a local gaming entrepreneur, Oxford & Stanfords graduate, criticized via Twitter the measure taken by Tenerifes government.

He suggested that bitcoins could be used smartly, for example, to improve the 70% of young unemployment. Quintana added:

Pedro Martn, a public investment of 20 thousand euros that transforms into more than 1 million euros is a blessing, bitcoin can be declared to the treasury as any property asset to the treasury. He has just committed an attack against our citizens due to ignorance.

What do you think about the measure taken by Tenerifes government of selling bitcoins investment? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

The rest is here:
Spanish Island Government Decides to Sell Its Bitcoin Investment by Citing 'Ethical' Reasons News Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Bitcoin has been on a tear in 2021, and if history is any indication, we should expect bitcoin to continue to run well past the six figures mark, and to $200,000 and beyond in 2021.

While the typical skeptic will shout from the rooftops, Bitcoin is nothing more than a speculative bubble! and how there is No intrinsic value, Bitcoin is just tulips!, these critics clearly have not done much critical thinking or research on the topic.

To be fair to the naysayers, on the surface its hard to understand how anything that has appreciated 711 percent over the past 365 days can have done so without being the beneficiary of mindless speculation or a bubble that is due to burst at any moment. But the answer is simple: Supply is programmatic.

The Bitcoin protocol has programmatic supply issuance, thus price is a function of increasing or diminishing demand to hold the asset, there is no variability on the supply side. This is a monumental breakthrough in monetary economics, and is a concept that is ill understood even by so-called economic experts.

Every 210,000 blocks, or about every four years, the Bitcoin protocol undergoes what is called a Halving, where the new supply of bitcoin issued into circulation is reduced by 50 percent. This event creates a disequilibrium in the supply and demand dynamics that the market had adjusted to during the previous 210,000 blocks.

Check out this thread by Croesus_BTC for a great visual on the dynamics of the Halving:

While the Halving events are known about into the future, it is quite literally impossible to price in'' a supply shock in regards to a monetary asset.

In March 2019, Plan B, a pseudonymous Twitter user, released a model that quantified the relationship between the relative scarcity of bitcoin and the price. Interestingly enough, he found there was quite a significant correlation between the stock-to-flow ratio of bitcoin, and the price action of the asset.

Stock to flow can be quantified as existing supply of an asset/commodity divided by the annual flow of new supply.

Plan B later revised the model to account for presumably lost coins. The updated model is shown below:

All models are wrong, but some are useful.

-George E. P. Box, British statistician

While it cannot be said that the price action is directly attributable to the Halving and the stock-to-flow relationship, it is extremely obvious that this is simply not a statistical anomaly or occurring simply by chance.

The model predicts a rise to $100,000-plus in 2021, and in my opinion that is just the start. As seen in previous Halving cycles, with the Halving serving as a catalyst, the price run up in bitcoin brings about a wave of new adopters and users, who come to understand the monetary attributes of bitcoin. This works in a reflexive cycle. New adopters enter the space competing to acquire bitcoin, which increases unit price, which increases media attention and miner profitability, which increases network security and gives the asset more perceived legitimacy. This process has been occuring in a reflexive and cyclical fashion for over 12 years, and it would be a bad choice to bet on it stopping anytime soon.

What is fundamentally different during this Halving cycle is the monetary debasement that is occuring in the legacy financial system. Major global central banks, mainly the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) have painted themselves into a corner. Following decades of interest rate reductions to stimulate markets, rates are stuck at the zero lower bound, leaving them without a major tool in their tool box.

The response?

Quantitative easing on a scale that was previously unfathomable, shown by a parabolic rise in the balance sheets of the central banks. Without the ability to lower interest rates any further, quantitative easing, the act of buying bonds and securitized debt with newly printed cash, has been the go-to response. This has provided a boon to global credit and stock markets, and has served as absolute rocket fuel for the price of bitcoin. Recent statements from both the Fed and ECB have shown that they are committed to continue easing.

In the late months of 2020 and the first months of 2021, corporate and institutional interest in bitcoin as a monetary asset has exploded. The insurance industry, corporate treasurers, Wall Street banks and sovereign wealth funds are all gearing up to enter the space in a big way.

The bad news? A vast majority of the 18.6 million bitcoin in circulation are not up for sale.

The good news? A vast majority of the 18.6 million bitcoin in circulation are not up for sale.

This wave of new demand from large capital allocators will have to fit through a pinhole of available supply, which will result in a skyrocketing bitcoin price, as bitcoin undergoes the transition from a predominantly individual/retail-driven asset, into a global monetary asset with geopolitical implications. A $200,000 bitcoin would equate to about a $3.7 trillion dollar asset, still just a fraction of the current market value of gold, its closest monetary competitor.

While nothing in this world is a guarantee, it is quite a good bet to place that politicians and central bankers will continue to operate following their basic incentive of printing money, as well as there being an extremely strong probability that the Bitcoin network will continue to attract additional adopters, as more rational individuals around the world come to realize that a system of rules is preferable to a system of rulers. Thus, with all of these factors at play, $200,000 bitcoin is not only in the cards, but in my opinion it is highly likely.

Regardless of the what the price action of bitcoin brings in the coming months of 2021, it is important to remember:

History shows it is not possible to insulate yourself from the consequences of others holding money that is harder than yours.

-Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard

Excerpt from:
If History Is Any Indication, $200,000 Bitcoin Is Coming In 2021 - Bitcoin Magazine

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, are some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency industry. They founded the Gemini exchange, which is one of the largest places cryptocurrencies are bought and sold, and also own a billion-dollar Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) stake themselves. In this Fool Livevideo clip, recorded on March 18, Cameron Winklevoss explains to The Motley Fool's Chief Growth Officer Anand Chokkavelu how he and his brother first discovered Bitcoin and knew it was going to be something special.

Anand Chokkavelu: So, as the description Bitcoin billionaire would imply, you were pretty early on in identifying the possibilities. What was your "wow" moment with Bitcoin?

Cameron Winklevoss: So my brother, Tyler, and I found Bitcoin in the summer of 2012. We were in Ibiza, of all places. We were actually on vacation, not looking for the next big thing, and somebody from Brooklyn recognized us from The Social Network and the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) saga and started talking to us. He asked us if we had thought about Bitcoin or virtual currency before, and we hadn't at that time, and it sounded kind of crazy, and then after a shot of tequila, made a lot more sense. We got back stateside, started reading as much as we could about it. I think what struck us was twofold. One, this was the first money purpose-built for the internet, that you could send around the world like email. That was amazing and groundbreaking to think about. The second thing was, if you look at the properties of Bitcoin, they really mirror gold, and they are actually the equal or better of gold properties. So if you look at gold, gold is scarce. Bitcoin is truly fixed at 21 million Bitcoin, and those are divisible up to 100 million pieces, so you don't actually have to buy a full Bitcoin. That's one of the biggest education hurdles I think, we see, is people see Bitcoin at $50,000 and they say, ''I can never afford a Bitcoin.'' Well, you can actually go to Gemini and buy as little as $5 worth of Bitcoin. It's not like Berkshire (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) Class A shares, where you have to pony up a couple of $100,000. You can actually just buy small fractions. So it's even more divisible than gold, way more portable, and easier to store inasmuch as it doesn't take up physical space. Storing it is obviously one of the hard problems that Gemini tries to solve for in allowing customers to use Gemini to store their Bitcoin and other crypto. But really, the digital gold framework in narrative struck us right away, as this is a potential emergent store of value that has gold-like properties that works on the internet.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

Originally posted here:
Here's When the Winklevoss Twins First Discovered Bitcoin - The Motley Fool

Previously, HashWatt signed the first-of-its-kind contract with a US power supplier for the building of large scale crypto mining operations on the grounds of multiple power plants (behind the nameplate) (connected directly to power stations before reaching the grid). HashWatt, Inc. enables scalable investments to development mines ranging from 7.5MW to 50MW.HashWatt owns and operates its own mines with the goal of increasing its #btc ownership position.

"The Company is deeply committed to sustainable and efficient #btc mining, the use of ESG power and being a best practices leader in the legitimization of the crypto currency/ mining industry. HashWatt believes a US-based digital asset mining industry is important to continued global leadership in financial services innovation.We are deeply committed to an ESG focus and engagement with regulators are we execute our planned expansion to operate at scale."said Kenyon Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of HashWatt, Inc.

The Company has indicated that its scaling plans include immediate expansion to an additional 7.5MW, followed by a 40MW expansion and then a series of 50MW expansions. The Company also intends to roll out complementary fintech blockchain services.

About HashWatt, Inc.HashWatt, Inc.'s sustainable bitcoin mining and captive ESG energy development is among the most efficient and lowest power cost miners in the U.S. HashWatt' s unique arrangements with U.S.-based power generation plants guarantees long-term, low-cost electricity without grid-based regulatory risk, and secure, leasehold property. These contractual agreements are for seven years and renewable for three-year extensions.The Company applies best-in-class practices and rigorous business management and execution to the mining market in conformity and compliance with U.S. laws rules, and regulations. For more information, please visit http://www.hashwatt.io

Press contact [emailprotected]

SOURCE HashWatt

https://www.hashwatt.io

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HashWatt.io - HashWatt Sustainable Bitcoin Mining and Captive ESG Energy Development Company announces completion of 2nd financing round to expand...

Even if bitcoin loses favor with the celebrity backers helping to boost its value, there are legions of lesser-known diehards standing by its side.

Thats partly because the wildly popular cryptocurrency is not just a hot investment for hedge funders and corporate mogulsits become a cost-effective way to transfer money throughout the developing world. Nowhere is this clearer than in Nigeria, where the central bank is so worried about Nigerians choosing cryptocurrencies over the naira for overseas remittance payments that it is now paying them to use official channels for those transfers instead. The central bank announced the scheme after international remittances inflows plummeted last year, as more Nigerians abandoned official banking channels by turning to cheaper cryptocurrency exchanges. The move came on the heels of a nationwide crackdown on banks dealing in cryptocurrencies, which the government enacted in an attempt to counteract the nairas declining value.

Other emerging market central banks in Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia, where remittances make up a significant share of the economy, are in a similar bind. Bitcoin transfers surged in emerging markets last year, as the pandemic accelerated the rise of cheaper, more efficient digital remittance services.

For migrant workers who frequently send money across borders to support their families, the minimal transaction costs of cryptocurrency exchanges beat exorbitant transaction fees of traditional money wire companies like Western Union and MoneyGram, whose dominance of the remittances market has long troubled international development institutions concerned with economic growth. Cryptocurrency transactions are faster than official currency transfers, which require working through banks reliant on SWIFT, the sluggish, half-century-old interbank messaging system that handles cross-border payments.

Cryptocurrency exchanges also avoid the political complications of official channels. They have been used to skirt US sanctions to access international payments and financial markets, and by unofficial migrant workers who lack access to local banks. The global reach of cryptocurrencies avoidsthe inflation risk inherent to official currencies, especially in politically unstable countries reliant on fickle foreign investors.

To turn back the tide, central banks have been scurrying to build out official digital currencies to compete with private crypto companies. The question is how quickly they can develop those channels as private players rapidly expand their reach. So far, governments banning cryptocurrencies to buy time have found that, in the digital age, blocking enterprising crypto investors from global markets doesnt work. Die-hards have simply moved on to smaller peer-to-peer crypto exchanges, making traditional outlets look worse.

Read more here:
Bitcoin draws millions of workers sending their money abroad - Quartz Africa

A financial paradigm shift may be evolving right under our very noses.

The very nature of money, and in many cases financial markets, is changing, and it is easy to miss it in all the fuss over the daily price fluctuations of bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.32% and dogecoin, and the nascent assets similarities to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and tulip mania of the 1600s.

See: Bitcoin could become outlawed the way gold was outlawed in 1934, speculates Bridgewaters Dalio

But as the prologue to Paul Vigna and Michael Caseys 2015 book The Age of Cryptocurrency states, bitcoin is here to stay, and you ignore it at your peril. Theres a reason major companies, including Tesla TSLA, +3.98%, PayPal PYPL, +0.37% and Microstrategy MSTR, +3.59%, have been investing billions in bitcoin in recent months. It isnt quite clear if the reasons are good ones.

But as billionaire Ray Dalio told Yahoo Finance in an interview that aired Wednesday, bitcoin and in many ways the broader blockchain complex has proven itself over the last 10 years its by and large worked on an operational basis those are the pluses.

Read: Bitcoin climbs as Elon Musk says Americans can now use it to buy a Tesla

No one knows what the future holds for cryptographic assets, but MarketWatchs aim will be to explore what the emergence of digital tokens and bitcoin mean for your wallet in a two-day event to be held April 7 and 14 at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

Virtual event: Register now for MarketWatchs Investing in Crypto even on April 7 and 14

MarketWatch and Barrons journalists will convene top experts in crypto, including Galaxy Digitals Michael Novogratz; Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce; Sheila Warren, deputy head of C4IR at the World Economic Forum; and other financial pros to highlight the latest in the nascent sector and discuss what the outcropping of institutional interest in virtual currency and blockchain portend for Main Street and Wall Street and the best strategies for prospective digital-currency buyers.

Check out: Tesla shopping with bitcoin represents major step for crypto, analyst says

The sessions will be moderated by reporters and editors from MarketWatch and Barrons, with the hope of helping readers navigate the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Where are the crypto markets headed? Will the U.S. finally have a bitcoin exchange-traded fund in 2021? How are central bankers thinking about digital dollars?

All those questions, and many more, will be explored.

Read the original:
Everything you need to know about bitcoin and the crypto revolution underway - MarketWatch

During a panel discussion hosted by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) last week, CEO of investment management firm Ark Investment Management Cathie Wood shared some decidedly bullish sentiments about bitcoins past and present.

With BTC recently crossing a total market capitalization of $1 trillion, Wood provided her outlook on where demand for the asset is headed.

If we add up the potential demand relative to the limited supply, we come up with incredible numbers over the long term, she said. We have just begun. $1 trillion is nothing compared to where this ultimately will be.

Wood explained that a significant motivator for her bullish outlook has been the growing demand for bitcoin, particularly from large institutions that are looking for ways to curb the inflating supply of their treasury assets.

We are now moving into what I believe will be primetime and I think helping it along is the demand from institutional investors, Wood explained on the panel. The most surprising development recently is that companies are now diversifying their cash with bitcoin.

She also noted that the institutions are increasingly looking at bitcoin as a way to conduct business more seamlessly across borders.

One of the reasons, as Tesla announced yesterday ,is that it would like to do business in bitcoin, she said. Especially in regions of the world where... the conversion from one fiat to another is prohibitively expensive.

Excerpt from:
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood On Bitcoin: "$1 Trillion Is Nothing" - Bitcoin Magazine

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, thinks bitcoin may have a similar fate as gold did in the U.S. during the 1930s.

"[B]ack in the '30s in the war years ... because cash and bonds were such bad investments relative to other things, there was the movement to those other things, and then the government outlawed them," Dalio told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday. "They outlawed gold.

"That's why also outlawing bitcoin is a good probability," he said.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market value, has "proven itself" as its blockchain hasn't been hacked and it has a large following, Dalio said. "It is an alternative store-hold of wealth. It's like a digital cash. And those are the pluses."

"So I think that it would be very likely that you will have it under a certain set of circumstances outlawed the way gold was outlawed," Dalio said.

Dalio explained that "every country treasures its monopoly on controlling the supply and demand. They don't want other monies to be operating or competing, because things can get out of control."

As an example, Dalio cited India and its efforts to ban cryptocurrency.

Whether it could it be effectively banned in the U.S. is another story.

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on that," Dalio said. "But, there's a whole way. My understanding, from people who are in government surveillance and so on, is yes, they can track it. They can know who's dealing with it."

However, James Ledbetter, editor of fintech newsletter FIN and CNBC contributor, previously toldCNBC Make It that it'd be quite difficult for the government to effectively ban bitcoin.

Although there's "concern or risk around regulation" of bitcoin, "I don't think even a concerted effort among different countries and different central banks could actually shut down bitcoin," Ledbetter said. "I don't think that's technologically possible. But there are ways that bitcoin could be regulated."

While he hasn't mentioned a ban, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly warned against cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

"They're highly volatile and therefore not really useful stores of value and they're not backed by anything,"Powellsaidduring a virtual panel discussionon digital banking on Monday. "It's more a speculative asset that's essentially a substitute for gold rather than for the dollar."

Dalio has previously addressed the government banning bitcoin.

In a January post titled "What I Think of Bitcoin" on the Bridgewater Associates website, Dalio wrote that although he is "not a bitcoin/cryptocurrency expert ... I suspect that Bitcoin's biggest risk is being successful, because if it's successful, the government will try to kill it and they have a lot of power to succeed."

Dalio also wrote that a "better alternative" to bitcoin will likely come along and displace it, "because that is the way the evolution of everything works," he said. "I see that as a risk."

Check out:Use this calculator to see exactly how much your third coronavirus stimulus check could be worth

Don't miss:

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Ray Dalio: The government 'outlawing bitcoin is a good probability' - CNBC

Even if bitcoin loses favor with the celebrity backers helping to boost its value, there are legions of lesser-known diehards standing by its side.

Thats partly because the wildly popular cryptocurrency is not just a hot investment for hedge funders and corporate mogulsits become a cost-effective way to transfer money throughout the developing world. Nowhere is this clearer than in Nigeria, where the central bank is so worried about Nigerians choosing cryptocurrencies over the naira for overseas remittance payments that it is now paying them to use official channels for those transfers instead. The central bank announced the scheme after international remittances inflows plummeted last year, as more Nigerians abandoned official banking channels by turning to cheaper cryptocurrency exchanges. The move came on the heels of a nationwide crackdown on banks dealing in cryptocurrencies, which the government enacted in an attempt to counteract the nairas declining value.

Other emerging market central banks in Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia, where remittances make up a significant share of the economy, are in a similar bind. Bitcoin transfers surged in emerging markets last year, as the pandemic accelerated the rise of cheaper, more efficient digital remittance services.

For migrant workers who frequently send money across borders to support their families, the minimal transaction costs of cryptocurrency exchanges beat exorbitant transaction fees of traditional money wire companies like Western Union and MoneyGram, whose dominance of the remittances market has long troubled international development institutions concerned with economic growth. Cryptocurrency transactions are faster than official currency transfers, which require working through banks reliant on SWIFT, the sluggish, half-century-old interbank messaging system that handles cross-border payments.

Cryptocurrency exchanges also avoid the political complications of official channels. They have been used to skirt US sanctions to access international payments and financial markets, and by unofficial migrant workers who lack access to local banks. The global reach of cryptocurrencies avoidsthe inflation risk inherent to official currencies, especially in politically unstable countries reliant on fickle foreign investors.

To turn back the tide, central banks have been scurrying to build out official digital currencies to compete with private crypto companies. The question is how quickly they can develop those channels as private players rapidly expand their reach. So far, governments banning cryptocurrencies to buy time have found that, in the digital age, blocking enterprising crypto investors from global markets doesnt work. Die-hards have simply moved on to smaller peer-to-peer crypto exchanges, making traditional outlets look worse.

Visit link:
Bitcoin draws millions of workers sending their money abroad - Quartz

A record $6 billion worth of bitcoin options contracts are set to expire later today. Earlier, $4 billion in options contracts had expired in January. The action in the derivatives market is most likely to dictate the price trend in the cryptocurrency over the next few months.

An options contract offers the buyer the opportunity to buy or selldepending on the type of contract they holdthe underlying asset.

Also Read | The great financial crunch: How the pandemic sank Indian states

Experts warn that in a bearish setup, prices of the worlds biggest cryptocurrency could fall towards the $44,000 level or even lower. However, in the event of no major fall, the digital asset outlook may turn bullish.

The influence of the options market on bitcoins spot market has increased over the past few months. We tell you what the expiry means for investors and how they can position themselves in the market.

Prices of bitcoin had cracked over 10% on Thursday but have recovered marginally today.

Even as bitcoin recovered to quote over the $53,000 level on Friday morning, traders are betting that it will plunge to a low of $44,000 by evening, when the options contracts are set to expire. The level is being referred to as max pain" in the investing parlance.

We are reaching a juncture that is referred to as max pain" when a record $6 billion of options contracts are set to expire. We hope that on Friday too, bitcoin doesn't witness too much correction. We expect it to be sticking around $44,000-45,000 zone," said Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder, CoinDCX.

At this point, multiple things could happen because theres a lot of money that gets settled on the expiry and theres a new position that is taken. Depending upon where the position is, the bitcoin prices will keep on changing.

According to experts, at the expiry on Friday, we may not see major movement, but post expiry, there could be big movements or even a correction.

Bitcoin may consolidate for a while as it had a great run from the $50,000 level. Prices may catch up again and rise in May. I do not see a major crash, but a slow downtrend in April. If it corrects around 30% from its all-time high of $61,000, it will be a good buying opportunity," said Siddharth Menon, co-founder and COO, WazirX.

The 2017 bull market had a median correction of around 40-50%, but this year, as there is a lot of institutional participation, so the median correction has come down to 30%. Whenever the price had seen 30% correction, it always saw a rebound. According to Menon, bitcoin is in a strong uptrend and every dip is a buying opportunity. If the risk-reward is favorable, it can be a good opportunity to enter the crypto market for the beginners," he said.

For HODLers, to minimize the downward risk, Menon suggests that the best way is to keep some cash and in a disciplined manner buy the dips if prices correct from here.

HODL stands for Hold on for Dear Life", which suggests that one is holding onto their cryptocurrencies despite the price dips.

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Bitcoin options worth $6bn expiring today: What does it mean for investors? - Mint