Category Archives: Bitcoin

New Delhi: Most major cryptocurrencies plunged on Wednesday as bears continue to push prices lower. Barring US dollar pegged coins, the top 10 traded cryptocurrencies were down up to 25 per cent in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin was down 8 per cent while Ethereum tanked 21 per cent. Binance Coin, XRP and Cardano were also down in double digits. Interestingly, the sell-off happened at a relatively higher volume, meaning this trend may continue for some time, said analysts.

The markets are currently dragged down by bears. Although this was not a major panic selling session, the momentum prevailing across the markets is pretty bearish. BTC is toying with the $33,000 level. ETH fell below the $2,000 mark creating a sense of scare across altcoins. This sort of volatility can be expected to continue throughout the week, said Edul Patel, CEO and co-founder of Mudrex.

Selling, though, was not just contained in the crypto market but equities across the world were also under pressure. The major reason behind this is the more than expected rise in inflation in the US, which pushed yields and US dollar higher.

The US consumer price index jumped 0.9% in June, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. That was above market expectations and the largest gain since June 2008.

Analysts believe the upcoming Grayscale unlockings, coupled with the Taproot upgrade, is likely to lead to an increased buying by wealthy investors and BTC whales.

The DAO is built on an Ethereum-based tool, Aragon, which connects multiple smart contracts that enable users to deposit liquidity. As of June 2021, there are 39 active pools available for swapping between stablecoins and assets on the platform.

(Views and recommendations given in this section are the analysts' own and do not represent those of ETMarkets.com. Please consult your financial adviser before taking any position in the asset/s mentioned.)

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Top cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin tanks 8%, Ethereum follows with 21% plunge - Economic Times

The future headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia CBE in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Selamawit Girma, a mother of three living in Ethiopias capital Addis Ababa, is worried.

Her monthly salary of 4,000 birr (about $91) isnt going as far as it used to. Inflation surpassed 20% in Ethiopia last year and its still risingup to 24.5% in Juneas the country struggles to contain the economic fall-out of the covid-19 pandemic.

"I am very scared of the current cost [of things], she told The Addis Standard.

I am afraid of being on the streets with my children. Prices are increasing in house rent, transport, foods and non-food items which the government seems to be doing very little about."

Its not for want of trying. Ethiopia has one of the most stable and diverse economies in Africa, benefiting from a forward-looking government that has consistently met development targets for its 117 million citizens. The number of Ethiopians living below the poverty line has more than halved since 2000.

Yet, whatever strides are taken domestically, Ethiopia exists within a global financial order that puts the US dollarthe worlds only reserve currencyat its apex.

Supply of these dollars is determined solely by the US Federal Reserve, which has a mandate solely to protect US economic interests.

And while printing trillions of dollars to stimulate demand seems to be helping Americain the short-term, at leastthe practice is having a devastating impact on poorer nations whose currencies are directly or indirectly pegged to USD.

The Fed is tasked with solving US monetary problems and not [those of] other countries, explained a spokesman for Project Mano, an Ethiopian lobby group that wants Addis Ababa to consider whether bitcoina decentralized cryptocurrency with a fixed supplycan break the inflationary cycle.

It is our problem, because we rely on another countrys monetary policy. They dont do it out of spite or to hurt us It's our own choice to hold dollars.

Understanding how ultra-loose monetary policies in the West can hurt developing nations isnt difficult.

The National Bank of Ethiopia currently holds about $3bn worth of foreign exchange reservesthe vast majority of which is in USD.

These holdings dont increase proportionally as the Fed prints more and more money, so their real valueor their purchasing poweris gradually eroded by inflation.

At the same time, Ethiopias government is overseeing the steady devaluation of its own currency, the birr, in an effort to stop the countrys $12bn trade deficit from growing any larger. (Devaluing a currency makes domestically produced goods more affordable on the international stage, thereby driving exports and helping to balance the books.)

Taken in isolation, each of these trends would be manageable.

But when the value of a countrys domestic currency and the value of its foreign reserves fall in tandem, there is a real and present danger of economic meltdown. Ethiopia must preserve the value of its USD holdingsor an equivalent reserve currencyin order to shield itself from hyperinflation at home.

And its getting much harder to do thatnot just because of the Feds endless money-printing, but also the fact that Ethiopian Airlines, one of the countrys main earners of foreign currency, is facing an uncertain future thanks to covid-19.

With Ethiopias GDP rate now growing four times slower than its inflation rate, the country is staring default down the barrel of a gun.

So, what to do about it?

It could simply buy more dollars. Thats Chinas approach: more than half of its $3.2tr worth of foreign exchange reserves is believed to be USD, which it uses to manipulate the USD/CNY exchange rate and keep exports rolling off the shelves.

Trouble is, developing nations like Ethiopia cant afford to stack trillions of dollars.

That leaves three options: hope that America will stop debasing the worlds reserve currency; find new, reliable sources of USD; or, diversify the states holdings beyond dollarspreferably by acquiring an asset with a fixed supply that cannot be manipulated by foreign governments. Enter bitcoin.

Adoption of bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general is scary for any government, but our project mainly aims at exploring solutions to solve forex issues the government might be facing, Project Mano asserted. Since everything else they hold grows in supplyincluding goldwe are suggesting [they find] something that doesnt grow, as an experiment.

Project Manos long-term vision encompasses three spheres: mining bitcoin; holding bitcoin; and linking bitcoin to the birr.

The latter two would, in theory, solve the problem of a depreciating reserve currencybut only if bitcoin fulfills its promise and matures into a globally recognized asset class. That, the lobbyists admit, will be seen as a gamble by the government.

A safer bet is their proposal to mine and monetize bitcoinparticularly given Ethiopias unique energy landscape and developmental status.

The East African country has abundant supplies of renewable energy: 90% of its electricity is already powered by domestic hydroelectric plants, with the remainder largely coming from wind, solar and geothermal sources.

Thats just a fraction of its future potential. The government hopes to grow renewable generation capacity fivefold to 25,000 megawatts (MW) by 2037, of which 6,500MW will come from one flagship project: the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), situated in the Blue Nile River.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus, ... [+] is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa.

All told, the full potential of renewable projects under consideration in the country is estimated to be as high as 60,000MW.

And for ordinary Ethiopians, the stakes are even higher.

Success in the green energy sector is critically important from a developmental perspective, with just 48% of the population currently plugged into the grid.

Electricity exports have also been identified as a much-needed source of foreign income: Sudan and Djibouti paid $66m for Ethiopian energy in 2019.

However, rolling out infrastructure isnt a silver bullet in countries like Ethiopia. Price volatility, erratic demand and logistical challenges all muddy the waters, making it difficult for investors to predict returns and ultimately slowing the pace of progress.

Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation, explained the problemand a potential solutionin a recent essay for Bitcoin Magazine:

"Billions of people in developing nations face the stranded power problem. In order for their economies to grow, they have to expand their electrical infrastructure, a capital-intensive and complex undertaking. But when they build power plants to try and capture renewable energy in remote places, that power often has nowhere to go."

He continued: "Here is where bitcoin could be an incentives game-changer. New power plants, no matter how remote, can generate immediate revenue, even with no transmission lines, by directing their energy to the bitcoin network and turning sunlight, water or wind into money With bitcoin, any excess energy can be directed to mining until the communities around the plant catch up."

That, in a nutshell, is Project Manos most compelling proposal.

Its analysis suggests that just 5% of the GERDs generating power would yield 2,100BTC per year under prevailing network conditions. That amounts to an annual return of $70m at the time of writing, against one-off capital costs of $105m for the acquisition of 10,000 S19 ASIC bitcoin mining machines.

By contrast, it would cost Ethiopia an estimated $1.7bn to build the infrastructure needed to export GERD energy to its neighbors.

Crucially, theres no need for the government to either mine bitcoin itself, or carry any risk by holding it.

Even if Ethiopia doesnt start mining directly, it could be a good energy exporter to mining companies who will gladly help build infrastructure for shared earnings, Project Mano explained, noting Ethiopias low electricity charges for businesses ($0.02/kWh, versus $0.10 in Nigeria and $0.18 in Kenya).

It simply could sell power Cheap power, clean energy and supportive government policies are attractive for any miner.

The spokesman admitted that the GERD itself may not be the best poster child for bitcoin adoption in Ethiopia.

The project has been mired in controversy for years, with Egypt and Sudantwo downstream neighborsthreatening to retaliate if, as they fear, their water supplies are negatively impacted by the dam. Tensions rose again this month when it was confirmed that Ethiopia had begun the second filling of the reservoir.

However, the GERD is just one of countless renewable energy projects in the countryany of which would be less awkward avenues for the government to look into if they take us seriously.

And, besides, with Cairo and Khartoum now seeking a negotiated settlement, its not hard to imagine a bitcoin-sharing deal laying the matter to rest once and for alland with no direct cost to Addis Ababa.

Theres no denying that, today, bitcoin isnt a talking point for most Ethiopians.

But its also undeniably true that their economy is strugglingdue, at least partly, to monetary policies that are decided thousands of miles away from Africa, and without any regard for the welfare of its people.

Ethiopias government has an enviable track-record for embracing new technologies and promoting new ideas.

Its time for bitcoin to enter the political discourse in Addis Ababa.

All we are asking is that [the government consider] diversification into other, uncorrelated portfolios, Project Mano emphasized. If the US dollar falls harder than expected, having a plan B is not a bad idea.

See more here:
Renewed Hope: How Bitcoin And Green Energy Can Save Ethiopias Economy - Forbes

As thecrypto payments market gains steam, lawmakers and regulators across the globe are trying to figure out how to regulate digital currencies effectively to ensure safety and legitimacya debate that took on a new sense of urgency after El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.

Asia-Pacific leads the way:Here are the latest crypto payment moves from two of the biggest global markets.

The bigger picture:When it comes to digital currencies, countries like CBDCs because they have parity with corresponding fiat currencies and can fit within the global banking system: Just days after international financial institutionscalled for global collaboration to make CBDC interoperable, central banks of Singapore and France successfullytesteda cross-border network involving multiple CBDCs supported byJPMorgan'sblockchain infrastructure,Onyx.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, faces anuphill climbtoward being accepted as a currency amid concerns about its high volatility and utility as a payment method, butpayment playersare nevertheless diving into the spacesignaling the asset may be able to overcome this skepticism. But for CBDCs and broader crypto payments to break into the mainstream, continued work toward interoperability will be key to ensure payment utility and enable cross-border transactions.

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How China and India are helping shape the future of CBDCs and Bitcoin - Business Insider

Bitcoin's Bollinger bandwidth reached a mulit-month low today. Does this signal impending ... [+] volatility? (Photo Illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images)

Bitcoin prices have been trading in a reasonably well-defined range lately, but could a multi-month low in the value of technical indicator presage a coming breakout?

The worlds most prominent cryptocurrency has been moving largely between $30,000 and $42,000 since late May, according to CoinDesk.

Earlier today, CoinDesk reporter Omkar Godbole wrote about the digital assets market conditions, emphasizing one specific technical indicator:

Bollinger bandwidth, a measure of volatility calculated by dividing the spread between the Bollinger bands by the 20-day average of the cryptocurrency's price, has declined to a 2 1/2-month low of 0.15, he stated.

Similarly low readings of this indicator came before significant increases in volatility, noted Godbole.

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]

Bollinger Bandwidth Considerations

However, a low Bollinger bandwidth does not, in and of itself, signal an impending breakout, analysts pointed out.

Bollinger Bands illustrate market volatility and a narrowing of the Bollinger bandwidth is a way of visualizing the decrease in volatility in recent weeks, said David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com.

In general, periods of lower volatility usually precede price breakouts. We saw that with Bitcoin and narrow Bollinger Bands in October 2020 and December 2020 before large price increases, and we also saw that in April 2021 right around the top for Bitcoin.

William Noble, the chief technical analyst of research platform Token Metrics, also commented on the situation.

Bollinger Band width is a good gauge as to [how] long, or how painful, a range trade has become. With bitcoin BBW crashing to .15 you have a numerical manifestation of the boredom bitcoin traders are living with.

BBW can sometimes crash and stay at low levels for up to a month, he added.

Low BBW doesnt guarantee the range will end soon.

Consulting Additional Indicators

When looking at Bollinger bandwidth, market observers can benefit significantly from checking other technical indicators, said Noble.

When using Bollinger Bands, you want to look for a reversal candlestick, he stated.

If bears try and force the market down, but bulls make a dramatic counterattack that same day, that is the sign that bulls have control and the range could end.

The same goes for the downside, Noble added.

For example, if bitcoin is in a tight range and there is a sudden breakdown because of a problem in the stock market, the sudden shock of the down move can send bulls running for cover.

Katie Stockton, the founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, LLC, also weighed in, stating that:

I would always cross-reference any tool with other indicators.

She noted that when Bollinger bands contract, its time to watch levels closely.

So, Id be watching the 50-day MA and 30K for a breakout/breakdown, with a breakout more likely (in my work) from an overbought/oversold perspective.

Stockton wasnt the only one who spoke to potential downside, as Keller also offered some input on the bearish price action the digital asset might experience in the near future.

Overall, the chart of Bitcoin remains in distribution mode, with lower highs and lower momentum through much of 2021, he stated.

Bitcoin has remained below a downward-sloping 50-day moving average since May, indicating overall price weakness. The tight Bollinger Bands suggests a breakout is imminent, and the patterns of distribution suggest that break will most likely be lower.

Look for $30,000 to remain an important area of support, and a break below $30,000 could open the way to the next downside objective around $27,000, Keller emphasized.

Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.

Link:
Are Bitcoin Prices Getting Ready To Break Free Of Their Current Malaise? - Forbes

A little less than a month ago, the Bitcoin miners around the world signaled enough in the affirmative to start accepting Taproot around November 12th of this year. For those who follow the price of Bitcoin and may be sitting on the sidelines, this upgrade not only is a monster but lays the foundation for further development of the network. In that it is the first upgrade in four years is a positive sign, as the Bitcoin community is not only decentralized, it may be a higher threshold than an Act of Congress to upgrade to the network.

But the secrets behind Taproot, with the ability behind a better network efficiency as well as higher levels of privacy for transactions, may unlock a much higher price that could be an all-time high above $100,000. The serendipity at which Taproot arrives and where regulation is at should also add value to the proposition of Bitcoin.

This piece takes a look at some of the tech at a very high level to help explain Taproot in laymens terms. Additionally, explanations and further details are expanded upon by two interviews. To start down the tech path, lets take a look at a quote that first introduced Taproot. The special case of a top level threshold-signature OR arbitrary-conditions can be made indistinguishable from a normal one-party signature, with no overhead at all, with a special delegating CHECKSIG which I call Taproot, said Gregory Maxwell in his introduction of the concept of Taproot in 2018.

Taproot uses two types of technologies that we will have one of our two experts explain momentarily, but first as it applies to the potential for upside on the price of Bitcoin, I spoke with D++. Using her pseudonym as her name as a privacy advocate, D++ is a revolutionary cypherpunk and Bitcoin maximalist on her Twitter feed, offered her view of the potential price impact of Taproot.

Taproot makes Bitcoin better...but the price is not built in, says D++ who views the potential for ... [+] greater institutional adoption as a result of the upgrade to the network. D++ is a pseudonym for the leader of plebnet.org and can be regularly heard on the 'Clubhouse' app explaining the technology of Bitcoin.

Taproot makes Bitcoin better...but the price is not built in, says D++ who views the potential for greater institutional adoption as a result of the upgrade to the network. celebration of this amazing technology; Bitcoin scripts and spending smart contracts, multisigs and lightning, because they all look the same, give you the added privacy.

Nadav Cohen, Security Engineer at Suredbits, is also a regular on Clubhouse and usually can be found explaining very complicated Bitcoin and Lightning coding and technical aspects, which typically the rest of the audience picks up from either a base layer or additional layer of technical understanding in how Bitcoin works.

According to Nadav Kohen, Software Engineer at Suredbits, "[Bitcoin] is still a pseudonymous network ... [+] and that all the details of every transaction are available, just not publicly visible." in explaining the Taproot upgrade.

With Taproot, a Merkle Abstract Syntax Tree (MAST) hashes all the different conditions of a contract; however, the use of Schnoor signatures permit the transactions executed to be private. To further explain, Schnoor signatures are a different form of digital signature than what has powered the network from the beginning:Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA).

Taproot is also critical in that the Bitcoin community implemented this change as a soft fork, meaning the changes are backwards compatible. The Bitcoin network is conservative and we dont make backward incompatible changes...the argument could be made it isnt right to deny Satoshi his coins with a backwards incompatible change, says Nadav Kohen, security engineer at Suredbits.

Kohen is excited that Taproot provides a foundation where, ...the improvements lay the groundwork for future potential upgrades that may improve efficiency, privacy, and fungibility further. Meanwhile, an individual who goes by the name D++ on Clubhouse and has been a participant on many Clubhouse chats discussing both Bitcoin and lightning networks, took some time to explain to me her excitement about Taproot.

D++ noted that, consensus for upgrading Bitcoin is very difficult. In 2017 there were ... the Blockchain wars... infighting. confusion as to how to update Bitcoin going forward. This time, however, D++ points out there is a concerted effort that, Everyone wants Taproot to be upgraded in community.

Taproot is now locked in and will be released around November 12. What to expect? D++ describes the upgrades as, ...cool: Schnoor signatures, Taproot, Merkle Abstract Syntax Trees, means privacy on Bitcoin - not private, but still pseudonymous, and is still on a public ledger. D++ noted Taproot simply obfuscates details so multisig is not apparent with Taproot.

Link:
Are Institutional Investors Undervaluing The Taproot Upgrade To Bitcoin? - Forbes

Few would dispute that Chinas recent crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining has contributed to the recent plunge in the value of bitcoin and other cryptos.

But while the argument rages about whether the volatility of cryptos is a sign of fundamental weakness or merely a bump along the road, the initiatives coming out of Beijing are being seen by experts as a sign of Chinas attempts to incubate its own fledgling e-currency and reboot the international financial system.

The Peoples Bank of China aims to become the first major central bank to issue a central bank digital currency. While the PBOCs counterparts in the west have taken a more cautious approach, it has held trials in several major cities including Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

The benefits of an e-currency are immense. As more and more transactions are made using a digital currency controlled centrally, the government gains more and more ability to monitor the economy and its people.

The rollout is also seen as part of Beijings push to weaken the power of the US dollar, and in turn that of the government in Washington. China believes that by internationalising the yuan it can reduce its dependence on the dollar-dominated global banking system, just as its Belt and Road Initiative is building an alternative network of international trade.

Alarm in western governments is such that the threat posed by the digital yuan, which could put China out of reach from international financial sanctions, for example, was discussed at last months G7 meeting.

But another crucial motivation is the increasing alarm in Beijing at the size of the crypto industry in China, where a huge amount of cryptocurrency was being mined until the recent crackdown.

The threat of an unregulated alternative monetary system emerging from blockchain technology is a clear and present danger to the Communist party, according to observers.

Jim Cramer, a former hedge fund manager and CNN business expert, said the government in Beijing believe its a direct threat to the regime because it is outside their control.

Seen from the perspective of central banks, cryptocurrencies are a threat to financial stability, argues Carsten Murawski, professor of finance at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and if digital currencies are to be developed then authorities want control.

All central banks want to control them the PBOC, the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, he says. They have no interest in parallel currencies floating around. Some countries may not be too worried but in China it could be more of a concern.

On Thursday, Fan Yifei, a deputy governor of the PBOC, said China was concerned about the threat posed by these digital currencies developed outside the regulated financial system. We are still quite worried about this issue, so we have taken some measures, Fan said.

The value of bitcoin shot up to a record high earlier this year of almost $65,000, having been worth less than $10,000 in the middle of last year, sparking a frenzy of interest in the cryptos as an investment to hedge against more traditional assets such as stocks and bonds. Comments by Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, that he would not allow bitcoin to be used to buy his cars added to the volatility and it is now trading in the low $30,000s.

But that has also attracted the attention of authorities such as those in China concerned about the largely unregulated market.

In many countries it is completely unregulated it is the absolute wild west, says Prof Murawski, who also pointed out that there might not be the usual legal avenues to pursue if people thought they had been defrauded.

So thats another reason to control cryptos: to protect the consumer. Uninformed investors could lose a huge amount of money.

In China, the rollout of the digital yuan has speeded up this year in tandem with the outlawing of crypto trading. In May, the PBOC banned banks from doing business or providing accounts for anyone trading in cryptocurrencies. It was followed by the outlawing of bitcoin mining in several provinces, including Sichuan. On Tuesday, Chinas central bank warned companies against assisting cryptocurrency-related businesses as it shut down a software firm over suspected involvement in digital currency transactions.

Fan said on Thursday that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin had become tools for speculation and were bringing potential risks to financial security and social stability.

Online businesses have been allowed to prosper in China, but the government in Beijing has been ruthless in cutting them down to size if they appear to be getting too big to control. Jack Ma, the high-profile billionaire founder of the Alibaba empire, disappeared abruptly from public view for months last year, and his company was fined and ordered to downsize. Regulators have also targeted tech giants Tencent and Bytedance, the respective parents companies of WeChat and TikTok, and this week ordered ridesharing app Didi be pulled from app stores and launched an inquiry.

Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said some online industries such as cryptocurrencies had reached an alarming size.

Its time for the government to block such transactions from capital sources, so that money will stop flowing from real industries to those transactions, Dong told the Global Times.

Prof Murawski says yet another reason why China wants to clean up the cryptocurrency business on its own patch is the possible threat to the electricity system.

The process uses a huge amount of electricity and has tended to be set up in areas where cheap power is available. In China that has included Sichuan, which benefits from abundant and cheap hydro-electric power. But as profits rise thanks to the popularity of cryptos, governments may becoming less willing to allow miners to accrue huge benefits from a system that uses so much electricity it can threaten the stability of the power grid.

The crackdown on cryptos is not limited to China. Britains financial regulator said last month that Binance, one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges, cannot conduct any regulated activity and issued a warning to consumers about the platform.

But cryptos remain an extremely attractive asset for many investors who see nothing to fear from Chinas crackdown and that mining will simply migrate to other more accommodating jurisdictions with little impact on the market.

Michael Saylor, co-founder of the business intelligence company MicroStrategy and one of cryptos biggest cheerleaders, recently bought an additional 13,005 bitcoins for roughly $489m at an average price of $37,617 per coin. And the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz just launched a $2bn crypto fund and announced it was radically optimistic about cryptos potential to restore trust and enable new kinds of governance.

Read more:
Currency and control: why China wants to undermine bitcoin - The Guardian

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Square is making another bet on Bitcoin, confirming plans to develop a Bitcoin hardware wallet, according to a tweet by CEO Jack Dorsey.

Its another sign that Square (ticker: SQ) is turning into a proxy for Bitcoin. Square has already invested directly in Bitcoin for its balance sheet, and it has transformed its Cash App into a mobile Bitcoin wallet, processing $3.5 billion in Bitcoin transactions in the first quarter.

That hasnt been a positive this year, however, with Bitcoin prices in a slump. Indeed, Square stock is up just 9% in 2021, falling well behind its big rival in payments, PayPal Holdings (PYPL), which is ahead 27%, and the broader Nasdaq Composite index, up 13.5%.

The underperformance hasnt exactly made Square a value stocktrading at 113 times estimated 2022 earnings.

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But some analysts are raising their estimates and reiterating Buy ratings on the stock, arguing that other parts of the business are showing strength.

SQ shares appear to be increasingly trading with Bitcoin, but there is so much more to the story, wrote D.A. Davidson analyst Christopher Brendler in a note on Friday.

Brendler likes the stock on signs that revenues for Squares Seller app, used by businesses to process payments, should exceed consensus estimates in the second quarter. Analysts see payment volume on the app rising 64% year over year. While that sounds impressive, it would actually be a deceleration from the first quarters growth rate, he notes.

Growth should top consensus estimates due to building macro reopening tailwinds, Brendler writes. Square is also indicating strength in travel and services revenue, implying that Seller app revenues could come in ahead of consensus.

Bitcoin isnt likely to be a positive tailwind this quarter, with prices down nearly 50% from their peaks earlier in the year. But the impact should be negligible on Squares gross profits, amounting to a $19 million, or a 1.9% drag, Brendler writes.

He maintained a Buy on the stock and $275 price target.

MoffettNathansons Lisa Ellis also came out with a bullish note on Square on Friday. She reiterated a Buy and $300 target on the stock, raising her 2021 and 2022 earnings estimates to $1.61 and $2.05 a share, respectively.

Her rationale: A stronger-than-expected recovery in payment volumes as the economy gains momentum, along with improvements in Squares operating margins and the companys guidance on operating expenses.

As for Bitcoin, she doesnt see much impact on gross profit. Overall, she expects Bitcoin gross profit to come in at $274 million this year, or 6.4% of total gross profit of $4.3 billion.

Nonetheless, Squares correlation to Bitcoin may only intensify as the company develops hardware to store the digital token offline and other custody services. Square stock was ahead 1.6% on Friday to $239.64, rising with Bitcoins 2.2% gain over the last 24 hours.

Write to Daren Fonda at daren.fonda@barrons.com

Read more from the original source:
Bitcoin's Weakness Is Dragging Down Square Stock. It Might Be Time to Buy. - Barron's

After a bearish end to the day on Wednesday, the bears remained in control through this mornings session.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin, BTC to USD, was down by 3.75% to $32,618.2. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $33,939.0 before hitting reverse.

Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $34,713, Bitcoin tumbled to a late morning intraday low $32,104.0.

The extended sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level at $33,437 and the second major support level at $32,986.

Through the early hours, avoiding sub-$32,000 was key. The third major support level sits at $31,710.

It has also been a bearish morning for the broader crypto market.

Through the morning, Crypto.com Coin was down by 6.33% to lead the way down.

Chainlink (-5.39%), Ethereum (-5.91%), Litecoin (-4.93%), Polkadot (-4.32%), and Ripples XRP (-4.55%) also saw heavy losses.

Bitcoin Cash SV (-0.53%), Binance Coin (-3.57%), and Cardanos ADA (-2.46%) saw relatively modest losses, however.

Through the early hours, the crypto total market fell from an early morning high $1,423bn to a low $1,347bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $1,363bn.

Bitcoins dominance fell to an early low 44.65% before rising to a high 45.14%. At the time of writing, Bitcoins dominance stood at 44.93%.

Bitcoin would need to move through the $34,262 pivot to bring the first major resistance level at $34,713 into play.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break back through the major support levels.

Barring a broad-based crypto rebound, resistance at $34,000 would likely leave Bitcoin short of the first major resistance level $34,713 and $35,000 levels.

In the event of an extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could test resistance at $35,000 levels. The second major resistance level sits at $35,538.

Failure to move back through the second major support level at $32,986 would bring the third major support level at $31,710 back into play.

Story continues

Barring an extended sell-off through the afternoon, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$32,000 support levels.

Looking beyond the support and resistance levels, we saw a bearish cross this morning. The 50 EMA crossed through the 100 EMA and then the 200 EMA, supporting the early sell-off.

We also saw the 100 EMA pullback through the 200 EMA.

A further pullback of the 50 EMA from the 100 and 200 EMAs this afternoon would place Bitcoin under further pressure.

Key going into the afternoon will be to break back through to $34,000 levels to avoid a bigger hit on the day.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

See original here:
Bitcoin Price Prediction A Move Back Through to $34,000 Would Bring $35,000 into Play - Yahoo Finance

A bitcoin-friendly lawmaker in Paraguay is set to introduce legislation focused on regulation next week.

Carlitos Rejala, whose pro-bitcoin tweets have drawn attention in recent weeks, said he was working with Senator Fernando Silva Facetti to introduce the measure on July 14, or next Wednesday.

Rejala's past pronouncements had initially sparked speculation that he would push for Paraguay to follow in the footsteps of El Salvador that is, to create a law declaring bitcoin as a form of legal tender. However, he later clarified those remarks, telling Reuters that his bill was centered around regulation.

"We want the regulators and banks to also participate so that Paraguayans or foreigners can operate with these assets legally, because we know that illegal transactions exist here and in other countries," he told the outlet late last month."We want to be a crypto-friendly country."

On the question of taking a similar approach to El Salvador, Rejala was quoted as saying: "It is a bill of digital assets and it differs from that of El Salvador because they are taking it as legal currency and in Paraguay it will be impossible to do something like that."

Read more here:
Lawmaker in Paraguay says he will introduce bitcoin regulation law next week - The Block Crypto

Cryptocurrency market is in the green/red/mixed on July 10

The cryptocurrency market is in the green on July 10 (today). The global cryptocurrency market cap is $1.41 trillion, a 4.35 percent increase over the last day. The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $73.83 billion, which makes a 5.15 percent decrease. The volume of all stable coins is now $54.73 billion, which is 74.13 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Bitcoin's price is currently $33,879.76 and its dominance is 45.08 percent, a decrease of 0.11 percent over the day. XRP gained the most by 6.63 percent, followed by Uniswap which gained 6.12 percent; while Tether fell the most by -0.02 percent. Read full here.

Big Story

After global crypto crackdown, Binance promises to double international compliance team by 2021 end

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans on doubling its compliance team and said it will humbly welcome more capable talents" as it faces a blizzard of global regulatory probes. Around the world, regulators are worried about criminals using cryptocurrencies as a conduit for money laundering and about investors falling victim to scams in the red-hot sector. Reacting to this, CEO Changpeng Zhao said Binance's international compliance team and advisory board had grown by 500 percent since last year" and planned to double by the end of 2021, without giving figures for intended hires. Read full here.

Analysis

After a rough quarter, cryptocurrencies are on the rise again

After losing market favour post a bloody quarter, the market for cryptocurrencies seems to be warming up again. In what can only be described as a 'bear market' for the crypto space, the last quarter seemingly brought to halt the euphoria around the alternative currencies, which are currently valued at halved values from their all-time highs. See more here.

Now This

No takers; rare diamond offered in exchange for cryptocurrency sold for $12.3 million cash instead

Sotheby's auction for its rare 101.38-carat diamond (known as Key 10138) was sold for HK$95.1 million ($12.3 million) reportedly using traditional currency. Dubbed as the 'first ever important diamond in the world to be auctioned with cryptocurrency as an accepted method of payment by Sotheby, the auction was a let down for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Earlier, the New York-based auction house had announced that it will accept payment in Bitcoin or Ether for its upcoming sale of 101.38-carat pear-shaped flawless diamond. Read details here.

Around the World

Israeli president given NFT of father's oath of office

Israel's parliament has hopped on the latest trend in digital artwork and presented the country's new president with a digital copy of his father's signed oath of office from 38 years earlier. The Knesset presented Isaac Herzog with the NFT ahead of his inauguration as Israel's 11th president on Wednesday. The Knesset's Technology and Computing Division dug out the oath of office signed by former president Chaim Herzog father of the newly instated president from the parliamentary archives and created an encrypted digital image. That NFT was loaned to the President's residence and presented to President Herzog ahead of his inauguration. Read more details here.

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Top cryptocurrency news on July 10: Major stories on Bitcoin, Binance and NFTs - Moneycontrol.com