All posts by flippener

Bitcoin (BTC), News

Citi Group and Ruffer Predict Breakout Point for Bitcoin Mainstream Adoption

Ruffer, the British asset manager, and Citi Group, the investment banking giant in separate predictions said that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are inching closer towards mainstream adoption. The prediction comes at a time when Bitcoin price seems to be stuck under $50,000 ever since breaking past its new all-time-high above $58,000 a couple of weeks back.

Ruffer has a total of $28.6 billion in total assets under its management and recently also revealed that it has invested 3% of its asset in Bitcoin and also holds indirect exposure through its position in MicroStrategy. The firm in its half-yearly financial report lauded Bitcoin as the next-gen institutional investment asset and said,
“We think we are relatively early to this, at the foothills of a long trend of institutional adoption and financialisation of bitcoin,”

The firm added

“Bitcoin brings something significantly different to the portfolio.Due to zero interest rates the investment world is desperate for new safe-havens and uncorrelated assets,”

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay

CITI Group Says Bitcoin Can Become Primary Choice of Currency For International Trade
CITI Group released its research note on Monday as well, in this note CITI Group cited Bitcoin’s growing adoption and believe it is at the starting point of mainstream adoption and its primary use could grow in the field of international trade. The investment banking giant in its research note said,

Bitcoin price has more than doubled since the start of the year, however, the price movements have changed significantly in 2021, where the top cryptocurrency has risen in the first week of every new month creating a new all-time high, followed by a sharp correction and weeks of consolidation before another price rise.

After covering the losses of the previous month in the first week of February, Bitcoin rose to a new ATH and corrected 20% in the following week followed by another week of consolidation to rising above $50,000. The highly bullish events such as MicroStrategy’s another Billion Dollar Bitcoin purchase and the US Government’s approval of the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus bill also couldn’t help Bitcoin price to stay above $50K. The start of the new month and continuous institutional buying along with other on-chain metrics suggest Bitcoin could start its next leg of the bull run.

Read more: CoinGape

Bitcoin (BTC), News

Elon Musk on collision course with EU as Tesla chief’s Bitcoin splurge sparks concern

ELON MUSK might have set himself on a collision course with the EU – as after his Bitcoin investment, the European Central Bank (ECB) issued a stark warning about the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin hit record highs earlier this month after Elon Musk’s car company Tesla said it had bought about $1.5billion (£1.1bn) of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin rose above $48,000 (£34,820) before falling back slightly. Some investors took Tesla’s move as a signal that Bitcoin would become a mainstream financial asset.

According to Daniel Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, Tesla has made roughly $1billion (£723million) in paper profits from its investment.

Mr Ives estimated in a note published on Saturday: “The company is on a trajectory to make more from its Bitcoin investments than profits from selling its EV (electric vehicle) cars in all of 2020.”

Mr Musk’s endorsement of the digital currency, which he has in the past described as “simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash”, might set him on a collision course against the European Union, though.

As Bitcoin’s price surged to a new historical high, the European Central Bank’s President Christine Lagarde launched a stark warning against the cryptocurrency earlier this month.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

She said: “It [Bitcoin] is not a currency. Cryptocurrencies are not money.

The ECB President then underlined the lack of guarantees of real stability, as in the case of the euro or the dollar.

Explaining the risks consumers are exposed to, Ms Lagarde continued: “It is imperative that, if an activity is carried out by a private actor, this activity, if it is similar to money, is subject to exactly the same rules, exactly the same rations, exactly the same control mechanisms.

“So even if they are not money, but are ‘similar’ to them, the rules for cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies must be the same.”

In a recent report, the head of Oxford-based think-tank Euro Intelligence Wolfgang Munchau criticised Ms Lagarde, arguing her comment “goes to the heart of the misunderstanding of the economics and central bank professions about the nature of Bitcoin”.

He wrote: “It will not be up to them to decide whether or not it is money.

“That question will be settled by those who use it.

“Fiat money is a social contract that exists because people trust it.

“The betting on Bitcoin, including Elon Musk’s €1.5billion (£1.1bn) investment, constitute a bet that this might not always be so.”

Mr Munchau noted the world may only be a couple of policy mistakes away from an environment in which the use of digital money, Bitcoin and others, could become more widespread.

He explained: “Bitcoin is not only a bet against inflation like gold or silver. It is a bet against a system in which money is used as a policy tool. It is no surprise that the launch of Bitcoin, in 2009, coincided with the advent of quantitative easing.

“The widespread misunderstanding of policy makers is that the intention of Bitcoin was never to create a rival to the euro or the dollar but to create a device that protects from economists and central bankers or governments that want to track electronic payments.

“The group of techies who started the project with an article in 2009 saw Bitcoin as a device to protect individuals from state control of all kinds – by creating a stateless currency that could be used in transactions and a store of value.

Read more: Express

Bitcoin (BTC), News

Overheard On CNBC: If It Wasn’t For Bitcoin, Gold Would Be $3K

Bitcoin is making headlines left and right on media outlets everywhere, but none more so than CNBC. According to a well respected journalist, during a segment on CNBC it was said that gold would be trading at $3,000 an ounce if it wasn’t for Bitcoin.

Here’s why that statement is probably true, and why the cryptocurrency will continue to take market share away from the aging shiny rock.

Gold Would Trade At $3K If It Wasn’t For BTC
The digital narrative worked like a charm, and Bitcoin is now stealing any capital looking to park somewhere resistant to inflation.

Gold has traditionally served that purpose, and as the economy first began treading on thin ice, the ages old asset that was once the “standard” began to uptrend again.

Gold eventually reached more than $2,000 an ounce at the height of its bull market. Natural profit-taking caused the price per ounce to pull back, but rather than go for another leg higher, capital well suited for gold made its way into Bitcoin instead.

Image by VIN JD from Pixabay
Image by VIN JD from Pixabay

Because Bitcoin exists, and money is pouring into the scarce cryptocurrency instead of gold, has prevented gold from trading at $3,000 an ounce, according to a statement overheard on CNBC today.

The statement was shared in a tweet, fingering the blame on Bitcoin as the culprit for gold’s lack of price appreciation.

How Bitcoin Makes Metals Seem a Lot Less Precious
Charts don’t lie, fortunately, and comparing gold against Bitcoin definitely shows a correlation between when gold peaked and the cryptocurrency really took off.

The change took place just days after gold had topped, and publicly traded companies began buying BTC to add to company reserves.

That trend has now extended into the likes of Tesla, and more corporations are expected to follow suit and could be responsible for Bitcoin’s price appreciation.

Other reasons, however, are undeniably due to gold outflows from hedge funds and other investors. Even retail are now getting back into crypto, but are focused more on altcoins as the price per BTC becomes out of reach for the average person.

But even altcoins absorbing some of the capital that could have made its way into gold, is ultimately Bitcoin’s doing. It is because of the first ever cryptocurrency that the rest of the market exists, and according the the statement made on CNBC, is responsible for gold trading at under $2,000, let alone the $3,000 it would be otherwise.

Read more: NEWSBTC

Bitcoin (BTC), Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin Marketcap Breaches $1 Trillion With New ATH of $53,756

Bitcoin breached the $53,000 price to register a new all-time high of $53,756 and also breached the $1 trillion market cap during the process.

The top cryptocurrency has been on a dream run since the last quarter of 2020 and has added nearly $40k to its price since the bull run began towards the end of October 2020.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The mammoth price rise has been aided with booming mainstream adoption by retail and institutions alike. While the 2017 bull run brought bitcoin the mainstream attention, the current bull run has seen Bitcoin gain widespread mainstream adoption from traditional financial institutions as well as fortune 500 companies.

Bitcoin price is slated to touch the 6-figure mark by the end of this year with price prediction varying from $100,000 to $220,000. Many analysts believe bitcoin is currently in a supercycle rather than just another bull run. The fact that Bitcoin has not only rose by 2.5X it’s 2017 high, unlike earlier the top cryptocurrency has maintained its gains. The previous bull runs came in bursts and lasted anywhere from few weeks to a couple of months, however, the current bull run is already in its 5th month.

Read more: Coin Market Cap

Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV)

OKCoin to Delist BCH and BSV To Protect Bitcoin From Craig Wright’s ‘Malicious Information War’

In an attempt to protect the Bitcoin ecosystem, OKCoin will remove two BTC hard forks – Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV – and blamed Craig Wright’s recent lawsuit.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The popular crypto exchange OKCoin has made a somewhat controversial decision to delist two Bitcoin forks – Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV). According to the platform’s CEO, the company is doing what’s in the best interest of Bitcoin’s ecosystem while trying to act against Craig Wright’s recent lawsuit urging various websites to remove the BTC whitepaper.

OKCoin Delists BSV and BTC

The exchange announced earlier today that it will suspend trading and altogether remove the two Bitcoin hard forks as of March 1st, 2021. Later on, Hong Fang, the CEO of OKCoin, published a detailed post to shed some light on the decision.

She reasoned that the exchange is frequently exploring which coins it should keep and which it should remove as part of its developing system. However, the BCH and BSV removals come with more “unique history and context.”

The post reads that BTC, as the first-ever cryptocurrency, gave birth to the entire industry. While hard forks are a relatively common occurrence within the ecosystem, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV carry a special note.

Both emerged several years ago as their respective proponents preferred different scaling paths, and each claimed that they are the “true Bitcoin.” However, Fang believes that crypto investors and the market have made it clear on “what Bitcoin was built for” as BTC’s market cap has reached $1 trillion, while BCH and BSV are valued at 1.5% and 0.5% of the original version.

Read more: Crypto Potato

Bitcoin (BTC), Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin price to hit $100,000, Anthony Scaramucci predicts

  • Anthony Scaramucci predicts Bitcoin price would hit $100,000 in 2021
  • Scaramucci believes forces of demand and supply will help Bitcoin

Former Goldman Sachs banker and chairman at SkyBridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci, has predicted that before the end of 2021, Bitcoin price would hit $100,000. This is after previously warning investors of Bitcoin’s notorious volatility.

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay

Scaramucci explained that the demand for Bitcoin has hiked lately. He also revealed that his firm’s investment in Bitcoin is over $500 million.

“We like it,” Scaramucci said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “We have over half a billion dollars in Bitcoin right now. And obviously, our Bitcoin fund started in December. It’s done quite well.”

Scaramucci Bitcoin Price prediction may be right

Bitcoin has already gained 70 percent since the new year began, rocketing to more than $51,000 per unit for the first time on Wednesday. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency also quadrupled last year.

Read more: Cryptopolitan

Bitcoin (BTC), Cryptocurrency

A Wave of Giants Rushing to Invest in Bitcoin Could Derail the Stock Market

After Tesla announced it has invested USD 1.5bn in bitcoin and expects to start accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment for its electric vehicles in the near future, the bitcoin price went soaring. It went from around USD 39,400 to an all-time high of over USD 48,000 in less than 24 hours.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jaydeep_-7740155/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3089728">VIN JD</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3089728">Pixabay</a>
Image by VIN JD from Pixabay

The price is now up by over 50% in the first six weeks of 2021. Led by Elon Musk, Tesla’s investment is obviously in profit already: depending on the exact day of the purchase, it is likely to be worth over USD 2bn, pointing to a paper profit of over USD 500m. To put that in context, when the electric car-maker made its first-ever annual net profit in 2020, it was just over USD 700m.

Tesla’s move into bitcoin comes on the back of a wave of institutional money invested in the leading cryptocurrency in recent months, plus numerous other companies putting it into their treasury reserves. With the world’s sixth most valuable company also saying it might buy and hold other digital assets “from time to time or long term”, it must be tempting for other major companies to do likewise. Since the Tesla announcement, Twitter finance director Ned Segal has already signalled that his company is considering such a move, while a research note from the Royal Bank of Canada has made a case for why it would benefit Apple.

The prospect of a bluechip invasion into bitcoin has caused much excitement among cryptocurrency investors. But if Tesla does trigger such a goldrush, there will also be some unsettling consequences.

Read more: Crypto News

Bitcoin (BTC)

Roses are red, violets are blue, Bitcoin hits $49K and a new all-time high too

The price of Bitcoin broke past $49,000 to achieve a new all-time high across major exchanges.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) achieved a new record above $49,000 on Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, rising to as high as $49,344 on Coinbase.

There are three main reasons Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high, namel high stablecoin inflows, clean break of the $38,000 resistance area, and a prolonged consolidation phase.

High stablecoin inflows were key

Throughout the past several days, despite Bitcoin’s consolidation below $38,000, on-chain analysts pinpointed the continuous increase in stablecoin inflows.

According to data from CryptoQuant, a data analytics platform, the Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR) rose significantly as it rallied from the mid-$30,000 region.

The SSR indicator shows the ratio of the market cap of Bitcoin relative to the aggregated market cap of stablecoins.

When the price of Bitcoin rises in tandem with the SSR ratio, then it means it is likely being driven by sidelined capital re-entering the market.

Bitcoin Electronic Currency (Image: CanonEOS/MaxPixel)
Bitcoin Electronic Currency (Image: CanonEOS/MaxPixel)

This trend is highly optimistic because it shows that the rally was not just driven by an over-leveraged futures market. In fact, it was genuine demand from the spot market that led the uptrend.

Atop the high stablecoin ratio, analysts also pinpointed the decline in selling pressure coming from miners.

The combination of the lower selling pressure from miners and the increasing stablecoin inflows into exchanges catalyzed the ongoing Bitcoin rally.

$38,000 resistance cleanly breaks

Bitcoin was consolidating under the $38,000 resistance area for a prolonged period. This presented a risk to the short-term bull cycle of Bitcoin.

When the price of Bitcoin hovers under a key resistance area for a long time, it increases the probability of BTC dropping to a lower support area to tap lower liquidity.

This is partially the reason why Bitcoin regularly dropped to around $44,000 before its eventual impulse rally above $38,000.

Long consolidation was beneficial for BTC price breakout

A relatively long consolidation period normally leads to two scenarios: a severe breakdown or a major breakout.

If Bitcoin rallies without strong fundamentals to support the rally, there is a bigger chance that the consolidation leads to a deep correction.

Read more: COINTELEGRAPH

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin could surge if ‘avalanche’ of companies invest and accept it as payment

BITCOIN could soon surge with one expert claiming there will soon be an “avalanche of thousands of companies” ready to invest in the cryptocurrency.

On Monday a report from RBC Capital Markets stated that Apple is well “positioned” to accept bitcoin as payment on Apple Pay. Originally reluctant to adopt the new digital monetary technology, the company banned cryptocurrency wallets from its App Store in 2014. However, they later reversed the decision and now allows them.

On Wednesday Mastercard Inc announced a plan to offer support for cryptocurrencies on its network in 2021.

This means Mastercard will sit alongside BlackRock Inc, Square and PayPal, who all have recently decided to support cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Mastercard said: “Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment.

Bitcoin Network (Image: MaxPixel)
Bitcoin Network (Image: MaxPixel)

“This change may open up merchants to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets”.

Speaking to Express bitcoin pioneer Max Keiser said: “As money printing by central banks goes parabolic all companies with cash on hand will start moving it into Bitcoin.

“In which order depends on how the board of directors are set up.

“Michael Saylor and Elon Musk control their boards and acted quickly.

“Apple’s board is more bureaucratic, so may take longer to approve.

“I’m hearing Larry Ellison at Oracle will announce a bitcoin position soon.

“Bitcoin payment rails will dominate.

“It might be Apple Pay on top, but it’ll be Bitcoin running underneath.”

Today bitcoin payment service BitPay announced its prepaid Mastercard is now compatible with Apple Pay for purchases in stores, in apps, and online.

Speaking to Express.co.uk Ben Gagnon, Director of Mining Operations at Bitfarms, said: “Fortune 500 companies like Apple and Tesla accepting Bitcoin for payment is a major accomplishment.

“Not because Apple or Tesla are likely to sell any more products as a result but because they will lead the way for many more businesses around the world to also accept Bitcoin as payment.”

Entrepreneur Michael Saylor speaking to Yahoo Finance predicted there would be a move from traditional treasury assets like cash and bonds into bitcoin, which he has labelled, “digital gold”.

Read more: Express

Bitcoin (BTC)

First Bitcoin ETF in Canada Approved, Is US Next?

A Bitcoin ETF has been approved in North America. Canadian securities regulators on Thursday approved the first publicly traded Bitcoin exchange-traded fund Purpose Bitcoin ETF.

While everyone was looking at the SEC to approve the first ETF in the US, Canada has made a move for it and proven its progressive view of Bitcoin and crypto at large. The Bitcoin ETF is set to provide exposure to long term, “high-risk” investors. The approval is set to cover these territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Labrador and Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Nunavut.

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF will debut in the Toronto Stock Exchange BTCC.U. The fund will buy Bitcoin that investors can buy in Canadian or US Dollars. It is reported that it will offer its units at market price plus management fees and expense fees.

Bulls Celebrate Bitcoin ETF Approval in Canada

In past interviews, the founder and CEO of Accelerate, the firm behind an ETF seeking to offer ABTC units on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has talked about the opportunity firms see in the new asset class.

“Bitcoin has been one of the best-performing asset classes on a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year basis, both absolute and risk-adjusted. Given Bitcoin’s historical track record and future potential, along with its portfolio diversification properties, we are looking forward to offering investors exposure to the asset class in an easy-to-use, low-cost ETF.”

Bitcoin (Image: Antana/CCBY-SA2)
Bitcoin (Image: Antana/CCBY-SA2)

Notably, this is the second ETF approval in the world this week. Earlier in the week, Bermuda approved a Hashdex and US stock exchange Nasdaq ETF that is set to expose investors to Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar Lumens, Chainlink, Litecoin, and Bitcoin of course.

In Canada, there are still a number of filed ETFs. The decision to reject or approve remains with the regulators. But following the approval of the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, most look set to pass.

Following this news, bulls seem to have taken control of the market. Bitcoin has gained around 5% at the time of press. This has successfully pushed prices back above $47K. However, the ETF news is not the only positive development in the last few hours. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has contributed after announcing that his Bitcoin resolution has been approved. The Mayor has the approval to pay employees in BTC, allow for city fees and taxes in BTC. It further looks into investing part of the city treasury in BTC.

Read more: Coinspeaker