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U.S. Bill Would Ease Bitcoin Tax Regulations for Small Transactions

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U.S. Bill Would Ease Bitcoin Tax Regulations for Small Transactions

U.S. Bill Would Ease Bitcoin Tax Regulations for Small Transactions

Two U.S. congressional representatives have introduced a bill that would reduce bitcoin tax reporting requirements. If the bill is signed into law, U.S. bitcoin users would no longer have to report transactions worth less than $600.

The Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act of 2017, introduced by Congressional Blockchain Caucus co-chairs Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) is a bipartisan attempt to reduce the regulatory burden on people who use cryptocurrency to make small, everyday transactions and not solely as an investment vehicle.

Unfortunately, current laws classify bitcoin as “property” in all cases, meaning that U.S. residents have to pay capital gains taxes every time they make a cryptocurrency transaction, no matter how small. This bill would bring nuance to bitcoin tax regulations, ensuring that bitcoin is treated like a currency when used as one.

“Cryptocurrencies can be used for anything from buying a cup of coffee to paying for a car, to crowdfunding a new startup and more and more consumers are choosing to use this type of payment. To keep up with modern technology, we need to remove outdated restrictions on cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and other methods of digital payment,” said Polis in a statement posted on his official website. “By cutting red tape and eliminating onerous reporting requirements, it will allow cryptocurrencies to further benefit consumers and help create good jobs.”

According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), most cryptocurrency users are already out of compliance with these laws. The tax agency says that only 802 people declared cryptocurrency transactions on their income tax returns in 2015. Consequently, the agency has contracted with blockchain-tracing firm Chainalysis to locate bitcoin tax cheats and has attempted to force bitcoin exchange Coinbase to reveal their customers’ personal information.

Of course, the Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act would not remove all reporting requirements for bitcoin transactions. Users will still have to pay the bitcoin tax on transactions larger than $600, which are more likely to be investment-related and thus subject to capital gains regulations.

That said, the legislative process is an arduous one, and many bills die before they even reach a vote. U.S. residents should demonstrate their support by contacting their representatives in Congress and asking to lend their support.

“Individuals all over the world are starting to use cryptocurrencies for small every day transactions, yet here in the States we have fallen behind and make cryptocurrency use more of a challenge than it needs to be,” added Schweikert. “With this simple legislative change, anyone can make digital payments to buy a newspaper or a bike without worrying about tax code challenges.”
 

Author: Josiah Wilmoth on 16/09/2017

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrpreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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$11 Billion – 24-Hour Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Hits New Record

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$11 Billion - 24-Hour Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Hits New Record

$11 Billion – 24-Hour Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Hits New Record

Cryptocurrency trading volume reached a new milestone on Friday, crossing $11 billion for the first time amid regulatory uncertainty in China.

Crypto Markets Post Record Volume

According to data obtained from CoinMarketCap, the combined 24-hour trading volume of all cryptocurrencies rose to $11.5 billion shortly after 16:00 UTC. The only other time daily trading volume has surpassed $10 billion was on August 19, when it briefly spiked to $10.5 billion


Cryptocurrency Trading Volume & Market Cap Chart from CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin topped the charts with $4.2 billion in volume, while ethereum and litecoin posted $1.9 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively. In all, 10 different currencies posted volume greater than $100 million.

$11 Billion - 24-Hour Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Hits New Record
Chart from CoinMarketCap

Bithumb and Bitfinex each handled about $1.5 billion in trades while Chinese bitcoin exchange OKCoin accounted for $750 million. Altogether, at least seven exchanges, including GDAX, Bittrex, Poloniex, and Huobi surpassed the $500 million mark (Volume had tapered off a bit by the time of writing, so it is possible Kraken and Coinone crossed $500 million earlier in the day).

Friday’s trading volume surge was caused by market volatility stemming from China’s crackdown on bitcoin exchanges. Yesterday, the markets crashed following reports that a bitcoin exchange ban was “certain” and BTCC’s subsequent announcement that it would shut down all trading services at the end of September. The markets continued to plunge Friday morning as Huobi and OKCoin were rumored to be meeting with regulators and two smaller exchanges–Yunbi and ViaBTC–also announced September closures.

However, later in the day OKCoin and Huobi issued concurrent statements that suggested they might continue providing cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency trading services. Both exchanges announced that they would close CNY trading pairs on October 31, but–unlike BTCC, Yunbi, and ViaBTC–they did not announce the suspension of “all trading.” Moreover, they indicated that they “expect to continue to provide Chinese users with [compliant] digital asset services.”

These announcements led to an immediate rally, and trading volume soared to a record level as the markets climbed back to $120 billion after dipping below $100 billion earlier in the day.

 

Author: Josiah Wilmoth on 15/09/2017

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Price Analysis – A perfect storm

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Bitcoin Price Analysis – A perfect storm

Bitcoin has dropped ~USD$400 in the past 24 hours, contributing to a ~USD$1450 drop in the past seven days. The leading cryptocurrency is down ~US$1150 Since the recent high of ~US$4950 on Sept 2nd, or nearly 30%. The lackluster performance can be attributed to both technical and fundamental factors.

On September 4th, China announced an outright ban of all ICOs, suggested refunding any collected funds in any ongoing crowd sales, and hinted at the shuttering of exchanges trading ICOs.

Earlier today, the oldest Bitcoin exchange in China, BTCC, announced it would end trading on September 30th. Competitors OKcoin and Huobi have yet to make announcements but they may also close their doors.

Needless to say, the market has reacted. Today marked the highest volume for a daily candle since Chinese exchange regulation in January, according to the BLX.

Not making a single clear statement, and therefore adding to fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a classic move from the Chinese government and has occurred multiple times in the past.

The crackdown in China occurs in the context of an already overbought market. These conditions are almost identical to those in January, when the Chinese government reigned in Bitcoin exchange trading.

One high volume Bitcoin trader, who likes to protect their identity, had this to say about the situation. “I see regulations as a means of protecting the investor. During the 1920’s the United States stock markets were cesspools of corrupt insider trading, front running and taking advantage of the general population. The Securities Act of 1933 put an end to most of that, although many now a days would say otherwise, ending the so called ‘wild west of the stock markets’. Cryptocurrency, still in its infancy in my opinion, is just this; markets untamed a wild west ruled by non professional pundits and early adopters. I expect regulation will potentially be a good thing at first. However, coming into larger global adoption – I fear that cryptocurrencies as a whole will become just as easily manipulated, if not more, by the J.P. Morgans and Goldman Sachs’ of the world, as has been demonstrated during the tumultuous events of the past seven days.”

When fundamentals and technicals are united, the price move and reaction becomes amplified. So no, CEO of J.P Morgan Jamie Dimon’s comments this week didn’t crash Bitcoin. The market was due for a large correction after spending only eight days in the 3000 range.

Exchange traded volume has been led by USD. Tether (USDT) is pegged to the dollar, and has also seen a significant bump in volume. This suggests that traders are using USDT as a safe haven from the pullback.

CNY volume accounts for <18% of exchange traded volume globally, but it’s clear that Chinese regulators have rattled the markets. Bitcoin has been selling for a significant discount in Yuan (CNY) markets, compared to other pairs, suggesting an influx of CNY traders selling bitcoin. CNY traders buying bitcoin had been paying a premium as recently as June.

In light of the China exchange bans, pending or otherwise, we can expect OTC volume to increase significantly, just as it did following the increased regulatory focus from the Chinese government in January.

On a geopolitically related note, North Korea appears to be itching for attention on the world stage, having fired another missile over Japan. Should an offensive campaign, police action, or outright war arise in the region, we can expect a reaction from Bitcoin in some fashion.

There has also been a great deal of press around the potential large scale bitcoin acquisition by North Korea, including: bitcoin mining based on an uptick of internet activity in the region, hackers targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, and their involvement with the WannaCry virus. Despite all the press, it is difficult to prove the extent at which this is occurring without significant and in depth investigations on several fronts.

However, Japanese Yen (JPY) and South Korean Won (KRW) constitute 28% of global bitcoin trading. Should Bitcoin be seen as a safe haven asset in those regions, we can expect a bullish spike in price, lead by bitcoin trading for a premium in those markets.

Technical Analysis

On weeks like this one, with intense selling, it’s important to understand why the selling is occurring from a technical perspective.

On the weekly timeframe, there was building volume and RSI bearish divergence, which was confirmed last week. This meant that as price is rising, it is doing so on less volume and less momentum that it had previously. It was losing steam.

Divergences are considered lagging indicators and are difficult to trade off in isolation. Much like this divergence however, traders will watch the momentum fade and take action when they are certain of the direction.

Bearish Divergences on the weekly chart have historically had significant pullbacks. Note that RSI divergences should be seen from the body of the candle, not the wick, because RSI is calculated at the close of the candle.

There have also been several hidden bullish divergences on the weekly chart, signaling weakening bearish sentiment. A hidden bullish divergence occurs when price makes a higher low on increased momentum. This means that in spite of increased momentum, price was unable to make a lower low.

This pattern has occurred several times on the weekly chart, and was a signal for strong bullish trend continuation. Should selling continue over the next week, there is the potential for another hidden bullish divergence.

When looking for strong high probability support, look no further than the Ichimoku Cloud. The Kijun (red) represents complete mean reversion of the historic prices over the past 30 periods. This zone is currently holding as support at the time of this article. Additionally, there is an incredibly small, but existing hidden bullish divergence should this zone hold.

Another indicator to use when looking for support is the Pitchfork (PF). They provide diagonals that can be thought of as a potential reversal zones or support/resistance lines. The upper diagonal zones being ‘most overbought,’ or the top bounds of the trend, and the lower diagonal zones being ‘most oversold,’ or the bottom bounds of the trend.
 

Based on the longstanding PF, beginning in 2015, there is potential for increased selling down to the median line, ~USD$2800. This zone also represents support from the previous ATH made earlier this year.

There is another noteworthy pattern developing on a shorter timeframe, the fifteen minute chart, a bullish three drives pattern with a growing volume and RSI bullish divergence.

Lastly, we are approaching a rollover date on the OKcoin quarterly futures. Although the alternating top/bottom price pattern between quarterly futures contracts began to get much looser on the most recent rally to ~USD$5000, volatility surrounding the contract dates is not unusual. With a potential touch of the 200EMA on the daily chart, this may very well represent an interim bottom until December, when another bull run may occur.

Conclusion

A perfect storm of technical weakness and Chinese regulatory belt tightening, neither of which was fully priced in until at least today. Once regulations are finalized and FUD is abated, we can expect a strong rally, similar to that in January of this year. Technicals are already showing signs of bearish momentum weakening, with support targets holding on the daily close. Interestingly, this drop has been timed almost perfectly with the open of a new quarterly futures contract on OKcoin. Although the volume on the daily candle is the highest it’s been all year, we’ve yet to see a strong capitulation wick, signaling the end of the pullback.

 

Author Josh Olszewicz , 15 Sep 2017 – Bitcoin Price Analysis, Opinion, Technical

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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John McAfee challenges Jamie Dimon’s bitcoin skepticism

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John McAfee challenges Jamie Dimon's bitcoin skepticism

John McAfee challenges Jamie Dimon's bitcoin skepticism

  • McAfee challenged Dimon's assertion that bitcoin is a "fraud" that will eventually blow up.
  • Miners invest "massive" amounts of supercomputing power and electricity in creating bitcoins, McAfee on CNBC's "Fast Money."

John McAfee on Wednesday challenged JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's skepticism of bitcoin.

Dimon on Tuesday called bitcoin a "fraud" that will eventually blow up. McAfee, whose company MGT Capital Investments mines the cryptocurrency, said he respects Dimon and people in his position "are not idiots," but he challenged Dimon's criticism.

"You called bitcoin a fraud," McAfee told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Wednesday. "I'm a bitcoin miner. We create bitcoins. It costs over $1,000 per coin to create a bitcoin. What does it cost to create a U.S. dollar? Which one is the fraud? Because it costs whatever the paper costs, but it costs me and other miners over $1,000 per coin. It's called proof of work."

Miners invest "massive" amounts of supercomputing power and electricity in creating bitcoins, McAfee said. Surely then, there is value in creating a bitcoin, he added.

Bitcoin has faced scrutiny because it is highly volatile. The cryptocurrency was last trading Wednesday evening at more than $3,870.

"And the fact that bitcoin is consistently growing in its use and its value has to say something," McAfee said. "Sure it will rise and fall as all new technologies are. But at the same time, it is certainly not a fraud."

McAfee made a lewd bet on Twitter earlier this summer that bitcoin would reach $500,000 within three years. On Wednesday, he said people called bitcoin a bubble that was bursting at one point, and then it smashed their expectations. Plus, the long-term trend of bitcoin has been consistently up, McAfee added.

McAfee is known for his pioneering McAfee Security antivirus software products, now part of Intel, as well as his extreme comments to the media and run-ins with the law. In July, McAfee settled a lawsuit with Intel over his right to use his name on other products. He agreed not to use his name, trademark his name or use certain phrases including his name.

Author: Angelica LaVito
News Associate for CNBC

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Bankers’ mistrust of bitcoin is still the greatest argument for it

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Bankers' mistrust of bitcoin is still the greatest argument for it

Bankers’ mistrust of bitcoin is still the greatest argument for it

Earlier on Tuesday, at different conferences around New York, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon took aim at bitcoin, calling the cryptocurrency “a fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs.”

This skepticism by one of Wall Street’s titans, and its reflection in many offices and hallways in top financial services companies, is perhaps one of the strongest cases for bitcoin’s lasting importance.

Let’s be clear, Dimon’s firm is one of the chief architects of the global financial crisis that led to the interest in a somewhat arcane cryptocurrency in the first place. There would be no bitcoin without Jamie Dimon — and in some ways he’s right to fear its rise.

As a Vanity Fair piece revealed last week, JPMorgan Chase paid out $13 billion (with a “b”) to the U.S. government because of its role in the financial crisis and the mortgage security fiasco that almost destroyed the U.S. economy.

The story quotes an unfiled complaint that was sealed as part of the settlement with the Department of Justice.

“By this action,” the draft complaint begins, “the United States seeks to recover civil penalties” against JPMorgan Chase and its investment banking arm “for a fraudulent and deceptive scheme to package and sell residential mortgage-backed securities” that the bank “knew contained a material amount of materially defective loans.” As the unfiled complaint continued, “JPMorgan knowingly securitized and sold billions of dollars of mortgage loans that were originated in material violation of underwriting guidelines and law.” (When reached for comments and responses to the various allegations in Wagner’s unfiled brief, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase told me, “These allegations have been addressed, resolved, or refuted years ago.”)

Whatever irrational exuberance may be attributed to bitcoin’s current froth, it’s hardly a fraud. What it does is get rid of the need for potentially unscrupulous middlemen who thrive and profit on asymmetric information.

Bitcoin does away with this by presenting an immutable ledger. The value of things are recorded, agreed upon, and irrefutable. Which means that shenanigans of the kind that brought down the housing bubble are less likely to occur.

Perhaps bitcoin itself is overvalued, but it’s not the house of cards that Dimon’s employees blew over in 2008.

While the near sacramental disputes in the cryptocurrency community over bitcoin and bitcoin cash or ethereum vs. ethereum classic do the entire industry no favors, they’re the arguments of individuals who want to untether financial services from the chicanery of misanthropic sociopaths who thrive on their ability to cheat systems.

The favorite refrain of Wall St. may be “it’s only illegal if I get caught”… and while cryptocurrencies are unregulated, they are — for the most part — transparent.
 

Again, the Vanity Fair report is illustrative.

At Dimon’s “insistence,” the unfiled complaint asserts, “JPMorgan formulated an exit strategy to divest itself” of the riskiest pieces of mortgage-backed securities that had been accumulating on its balance sheet. But, Wagner writes in the draft complaint, “despite knowledge at the highest levels that underwriting had deteriorated across the industry and early payment defaults were spiking, JPMorgan continued to purchase and securitize subprime loans without addressing the known breakdown of its due diligence practices and without disclosing its knowledge to investors.” This is pretty much the exact same thing that Goldman Sachs did leading up to the financial crisis, a practice for which the bank was roundly criticized.

Dimon may say that he’s not advising anyone to ‘go short’ on bitcoin, but if Wall Street keeps up its criticism, my advice may be to go long.

 

Author: Jonathan Shieber (@jshieber

 

Posted By David Ogden Entrepreneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Finds Bottom at $4,000 as Price Awaits Post-China Breakou

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Bitcoin Finds Bottom at $4,000 as Price Awaits Post-China Breakout

The bitcoin-US dollar exchange rate (BTC/USD) may have climbed back above $4,000, but it might be ready to push higher even though China uncertainty reigns supreme.

Following reports the country's regulators may be seeking to shut down domestic bitcoin exchanges, the bitcoin price fell to a low of $3,977 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) this weekend. The rumor comes a week after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) banned initial coin offerings (ICO), suddenly outlawing the practice of creating and selling cryptocurrency to investors to finance startup projects.

The confusion about what might lie ahead cut short bitcoin's ascent on Friday following a repeated technical failure around $4,650 levels, and the subsequent sell-off was exacerbated by the bearish news out of China.

So far, Bloomberg and the Wall street Journal are out with the reports today, suggesting the ban will be limited to exchange-based trading and will not affect over-the-counter transactions.

Further, wires are reporting that the price of bitcoin could drop below $4,000 if China bans trading on continuous order books of the larger exchanges. China's biggest exchanges and traders across the globe are still waiting for official confirmation.

Investors aren't buying it

All in all, it's no wonder the trading is subdued this Monday morning.

However, bitcoin has been successful in defending the psychological support of $4,000 – meaning price action indicates investors do not think China would shut down bitcoin exchanges, or that if they did, it would only have a limited impact.

Furthermore, it appears any ban on exchange-based cryptocurrency trades will not extend to over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, meaning markets could still move.

As per Wall Street Journal, "A ban on crypto exchanges won't mean the end of trading in digital currencies."

No news is good news

It's been 72 hours since the news of a China exchange ban broke out, and we are yet to hear official confirmation or denial. The broader market sentiment remains positive, hence, no news (official confirmation or denial) will be taken as good news.

Thus, investors may start snapping up bitcoins at current levels, although in such a case the digital currency would take a big hit if China, following a prolonged silence, suddenly confirms the ban.

Daily chart

Bears may be salivating at the idea of a big sell-off following the breach of the rising trend line, although, what we have now is a symmetrical triangle pattern.

The symmetrical triangle, which can also be referred to as a coil, usually forms during a trend as a continuation pattern. The pattern contains at least two lower highs and two higher lows. Prices typically breakout in the direction of the prior trend, i.e. in BTC's case, an upside breakout will signal resumption of the rally from the June 16 low of $1,826.

One may feel tempted to bet on the direction of the breakout, however, it may be advisable to stay on the sidelines and only trade the breakout.

One reason is that the 5-day moving average and the 10-DMA moving average are now capping the upside in bitcoin. The 14-day RSI is dangerously close to being bearish.

  • A downside break [an end of the day close below the symmetrical triangle floor] would mean bitcoin has made a near-term top at $5,000. The subsequent move lower could be extended to $3,164 (200-day moving average).

  • A bullish move is seen gathering pace following a break above $4,500. The level marks the confluence of the rising trend line resistance and symmetrical triangle resistance. Fresh record highs could be seen if prices break above $4,500.

 

Author: Sep 11, 2017 at 16:00 UTC by Omkar Godbole

 

Posted By David Ogden Entrepreneur
David ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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China Is Said to Ban Bitcoin Exchanges While Allowing OTC Trades

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China Is Said to Ban Bitcoin Exchanges While Allowing OTC Trades

China Is Said to Ban Bitcoin Exchanges While Allowing OTC Trades

  • Order comes amid a broader clampdown on financial risk
  • China is home to nearly a quarter of world’s bitcoin trades

China plans to ban trading of bitcoin and other virtual currencies on domestic exchanges, dealing another blow to the $150 billion cryptocurrency market after the country outlawed initial coin offerings last week.

The ban will only apply to trading of cryptocurrencies on exchanges, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Authorities don’t have plans to stop over-the-counter trading of virtual currencies, the people said. China’s central bank said it couldn’t immediately comment.

Bitcoin slumped on Friday after Caixin magazine reported China’s plans, capping the virtual currency’s biggest weekly retreat in nearly two months. The country accounts for about 23 percent of bitcoin trades and is also home to many of the world’s biggest bitcoin miners, who confirm transactions in the digital currency.

“Trading volume would definitely shrink,” said Zhou Shuoji, Beijing-based founding partner at FBG Capital, which invests in cryptocurrencies. “Old users will definitely still trade, but the entry threshold for new users is now very high. This will definitely slow the development of cryptocurrencies in China.”

While Beijing’s motivation for the exchange ban is unclear, it comes amid a clampdown on financial risk in the run-up to a key Communist Party leadership reshuffle next month. Bitcoin has jumped about 600 percent in dollar terms over the past year, part of a broad surge in virtual currencies that has fueled concerns of a bubble. The People’s Bank of China has done trial runs of its own prototype cryptocurrency, taking it a step closer to being the first major central bank to issue digital money.

“There has been a general tightening of the screw on regulating financial and monetary conditions,” said Mark McFarland, chief economist at Union Bancaire Privee SA HK in Hong Kong. “All of these things suggest a longer term process of tightening scrutiny of activities that aren’t in the normal sort of monetary realm.”

China Is Said to Ban Bitcoin Exchanges While Allowing OTC Trades

OKCoin, BTC China and Huobi, the country’s three biggest bitcoin exchanges, said on Monday that they hadn’t received any regulatory notices concerning bans on cryptocurrency trading. All three venues reported transactions on Monday, with bitcoin rising 6.3 percent on OKCoin as of 11:56 a.m. local time.

While bitcoin users will still be able to trade cryptocurrencies in China without exchanges, the process is likely to be slower and come with increased credit risk, analysts said.

The exchange ban is unlikely to have a major impact on the prices of cryptocurrencies because venues outside China will continue trading, according to FBG Capital’s Zhou. The country’s role in the bitcoin market had already started shrinking in recent months as authorities tightened regulation. At one point, exchanges in the country accounted for more than 90 percent of the world’s bitcoin transactions.

The bigger risk for global bitcoin traders may be the massive rally in prices, according to McFarland.

“Whenever you start to hear about Hong Kong taxi drivers becoming millionaires from buying bitcoin, you start to think this is not necessarily driven by fundamentals,” he said. “So you will get quite substantial pullbacks at some point.”

 

Bloomberg News
11 September 2017, 05:36 BST
— With assistance by Steven Yang, Gary Gao, Yinan Zhao, Yuji Nakamura, Lulu Yilun Chen, Justina Lee, and Eric Lam

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur

David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Deciphering China’s Central Bank Regulation on ICOs

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Deciphering China's Central Bank Regulation on ICOs

Deciphering China’s Central Bank Regulation on ICOs

In typical fashion, a Chinese news outlet reported something, no one who could translate it reported on it in the west, and a panic ensued, demonstrating just how much influence governments still have over cryptocurrencies. The Chinese central bank allowed this chaos to reign all week, not issuing an official English notice until Friday afternoon. Our editor Samburaj Das was on the case early in the week, writing:

As CCN reported in late August, Chinese authorities held a meeting to discuss regulations of ICOs on August 18 where the possibility of a complete ban on all ICOs was discussed. Last week, the National Internet Finance Association of China issued an ICO warning to members, deeming ICO platforms a threat to the stability of China’s financial sector.

At the time, Das was victimized by the opacity of information. The author’s own words ring truer on points like this, as regards Red Pulse, which are building a product (ICO funded) which aims to cut through the vaguenesses and opacity of news from China and surrounding regions:

Ironically, one of the ICOs greatly affected by the news of Chinese regulation is the Red Pulse ICO, which aims to put an end to Chinese rumor mills among other problems of opacity that investors face with the Asian market. For their part, Red Pulse have limited participants from both the US and China, and are requiring KYC regulations be met before investing.

Das referenced an official URL:

http://www.pbc.gov.cn/goutongjiaoliu/113456/113469/3374222/index.html

However, this link is now dead. We tried pulling up the original Chinese article from Archive.org, but it appears the document has already slipped out of the memory hole.

Nonetheless, an unaltered document used in this piece, that was published on the PBOC website, is now available. The author is serving an unaltered copy of this document here with a sha256sum of 072eb59a9fb4f3901eb2a9d3ecfeda05fa1ea9a2e9623455b0c72ca9d780e76b.

 

Public Notice by PBOC On Preventing Risks of Fundraising through Coin Offering

The document released by the Chinese central bank and its associated bodies has five instructions, which are as follows.

  • No Organizations or Individuals Shall Engage in Illegal Fundraising through Coin Offering

From a high level, this seems obvious, but they’re not talking about raising funds for illegal activities. They mean that the ICOs themselves were illegal, and they explain this in pretty clear terms:

From the date of release of this Notice, fundraising through coin offering shall be banned immediately. Any individuals or organizations that have completed fundraising through coin offering shall make arrangements to return the funds raised, and to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of the investors are protected and the risks involved are properly managed. The government departments concerned will strictly investigate and address the coin offering activities that have continued despite the ban and the illegal activities in the projects that had completed fundraising.

Now here is the interesting part of this part of the edict: it specifically says “from the date of release of this notice.” This can literally be interpreted to mean that previously operated ICOs are not in the crosshairs of government guns so long as they comply with the next part of the edict: that they arrange to refund all the monies raised.

NEO’s approach to this part of the dictate is that they are offering yet another refund round. Unfortunately, it seems clear that only a few of the token holders would actually be interested in selling their NEO back at a loss. It seems the actual loophole for this legislation is to just have a token that hasn’t gone to total crap – thus we can assert that for those who operated badly in the grey area, without creating legitimate projects, the government may be breathing down their necks.

  • Management of Related Platforms Shall be Strengthened

By this, the PBOC means that the screws need to be tightened on Chinese exchanges. In no uncertain terms they have banned the trade of cryptocurrencies for fiat currencies in China. It’s one of those rare moments where the puppet master really reveals his hand:

From the date of release of this Notice, any so-called platform that provide trading and exchange services for coin offering shall not engage in exchange businesses between legal tender and token or “virtual currency”; or engage in proprietary trading activities or trading as an central counterparty of tokens or “virtual currencies”; or provide pricing services or act as information intermediary for tokens or “virtual currencies”.

The ban really gets draconian when you read every implication. A Chinese citizen is now banned from even relaying the price of Bitcoin as a service or even telling someone about Ethereum – although the author is uneducated as to what a Chinese court would consider an “information intermediary.” They go on to hint that several Chinese exchanges will soon be no more:

As for the trading platforms with activities that have violated laws or regulations, the financial regulatory authorities will notify the administrative department in charge of telecommunications to adopt measures such as shutting down its website platform and mobile APP, notify the administrative departments in charge of cyberspace to remove its mobile APP from the APP store, and notify the business administration department to revoke its business license.

Jihan Wu seems to interpret the information differently:

Jihan Wu @JihanWu

Bitcoin is still legal in China. But ICO is illegal now.

Yet it ishard to get around the broad language here. Unless “Bitcoin” falls under some classification besides “virtual currency” there. It’s Jihan’s business, not our problem.

  • Financial Institutions and Non-Bank Payment Institutions Shall Not Conduct Businesses Related to Coin Offering Fundraising and Trading

Once clues of illegal coin offering fundraising and trading is identified, financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions shall promptly report to the departments concerned.

In Chinese law, now, ICO stands for “illegal coin offering.” In essence. This part of the edict banishes other businesses from providing insurance or other services to ICO-related companies. Again, it seems obvious that this blanket ban can easily apply to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. What is not obvious is how enforceable such large-scale bans even are in a country with a population exceeding 1 billion.

  • The Public Need to Stay Aware of the Risks of Coin Offering Fundraising and Trading

The obligatory tattle tale clause, which orders that Chinese are to report any shifty cryptocurrency people they might notice:

The public shall be aware of the risks and learn to identify the illegal financial activities in the name of “currency” (“bi” in Chinese), and report clues of illegal activities in a timely manner.

  • Self-regulatory Organizations Shall Exercise Industry Self-Regulation

As a westerner, the author is afraid for the “self-regulatory organizations” so commanded in this last clause, because they are ordered to interpret its orders “properly.” Thus, it seems pretty easy for one to do it improperly and be implicated without even trying:

To keep financial activities in order, all kinds of self-regulatory financial organizations shall interpret policy properly, urge members to consciously resist illegal financial activities related to coin offering fundraising and trading or “virtual currencies”, and to stay away from market irregularities and improve investor education.

Status of Chinese Exchanges, Time of Writing

The top Chinese Bitcoin exchanges were still posting current information at time of writing. This website is a good jumping point.

Chinease Exchanges

More Rumors Unconfirmed

A document allegedly listing 60 ICO-related projects targeted by the Chinese government has allegedly surfaced. We at CCN are still trying to verify the text and legitimacy of this document. Here is the original source. We note the author’s name:

Native speakers are welcome to help us out in the comments.

 

Best Practice for Crypto Traders

The author has never recommended anyone leave anything on exchanges. All the same, now is a time more important than ever to not be keeping any funds on Chinese exchanges or service providers. They have the ability and authority to pull the plug whenever they wish, and most exchanges have some form of user agreement that makes them blameless in such events, giving you almost no recourse. Take this one, for instance, from newer exchange Binance.

In case of any of the following events, BINANCE shall have the right to directly terminate this agreement by cancelling your account, and shall have the right to permanently freeze (cancel) the authorizations of your account on BINANCE and withdraw the corresponding BINANCE account thereof: after BINANCE terminates services to you, you allegedly register or register in any other person’s name as BINANCE user again, directly or indirectly; the main content of user’s information that you have provided is untruthful, inaccurate, outdated or incomplete; when this agreement (including the rules) is amended, you expressly state and notify BINANCE of your unwillingness to accept the amended service agreement; any other circumstances where BINANCE deems it should terminate the services. After the account service is terminated or the authorizations of your account on BINANCE is permanently froze (cancelled), BINANCE shall not have any duty to keep or disclose to you any information in your account or forward any information you have not read or sent to you or any third party. You agree that, after the termination of agreement between you and BINANCE, BINANCE shall still have the rights to: keep your user’s information and all the transaction information during your use of BINANCE Service. Claim against you according to this agreement if you have violated any laws, this agreement or the rules during your use of BINANCE Service. After BINANCE suspends or terminates BINANCE Service to you, your transaction activities prior to such suspension or termination will be dealt with according to the following principles and you shall will take care of on your own efforts and fully undertake any disputes, losses or extra expenses caused thereby and keep BINANCE harmless from any losses or expenses: BINANCE shall have the right to delete, at the same time of suspension or termination of services, information related to any un-traded coin tokens that you have uploaded to BINANCE prior to the suspension or termination. If you have reached any purchase agreement with any other member prior to the suspension or termination but such agreement has not been actually performed, BINANCE shall have the right to delete information related to such purchase agreement and the coins in question. If you have reached any purchase agreement with any other member prior to the suspension or termination and such agreement has been partially performed, BINANCE may elect not to delete the transaction; provided, however, BINANCE shall have the right to notify your counterparty of the situation at the same time of the suspension or termination.

After reading this, the author gets no confidence that in the event of government interference from PBOC or any other wing of the Chinese government, his funds would be safe. Nothing here explicitly states he would get his funds back, just that the exchange has the “right to withdraw” them. Destination unknown. Most legal agreements are like this, and clearly it’s bad business to steal deposits – but what would that matter to an exchange under government duress?

The author will just have to be more precise in his NEO trading going forward. Additionally, everyone dealing with Chinese cryptocurrency services should take careful notice: the real regulatory wave might finally be here. It would be in the exchange’s economic worst interest to undutifully inform you of changes, even if they suspect them. If expecting to hear news of closure from them, you will hear it last.

China has unkowingly, probably without irony, dubbed the term “illegal coin offering” in their Friday move, and they let the market sweat the issue for a full five business days before actually laying words out in English. So let’s not kid ourselves: they have power over the cryptonaughts and their beloved honey badger(s), just perhaps not as much or of the nature they previously believed.

 

Collated by P. H. Madore on 09/09/2017

 

Posted by David Ogden Entrepreneur

David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin Price Sinks Below $4,200 on China Uncertainty

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Bitcoin Price Sinks Below $4,200 on China Uncertainty

Bitcoin Price Sinks Below $4,200 on China Uncertainty

Markets for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have fallen over the course of the day, following contested reports that regulators in China are looking to shut down the country's exchange ecosystem.

CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) is currently at about $4,184, representing a nearly 10 percent decline since the start of the day's trading. Markets peaked today at $4,698.73, per the BPI, though prices began to tumble around 13:20 UTC.

Additional data from CoinMarketCap reveals that – perhaps unsurprisingly – China's top bitcoin exchanges are reporting some of the steepest price declines. The BTC/CNY market on OKCoin is at $3,650.71, while Huobi and BTCC are reporting prices of $3,657.84 and $3,656.57, respectively, at press time.

Other major bitcoin exchanges, including Bitfinex and Bistamp, are reporting current prices above the $4,100 level, according to data from BitcoinWisdom.

As reported earlier today, Chinese news source Caixin, citing unnamed sources, said that regulators are looking to shut down the exchanges. That decision, the newspaper claimed, has already been made and disseminated to other sources. Yet in the wake of that story, exchanges in China said they haven't receive any notices from the Chinese government, casting doubt on the veracity of the Caixin report.

Amidst the uncertainty, other cryptocurrency markets have seen notable declines as well. Ether prices are down more than 10 percent today, trading at around $295.93. Broad market declines have pushed the collective cryptocurrency market capitalization below $150 billion, after spending several days above the $160 billion level.

 

Sep 8, 2017 at 22:58 UTC by Stan Higgins

 

Posted By David Ogden Entrepreneur

David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin Breakout – Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

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Bitcoin Breakout - Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

Bitcoin Breakout – Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

The bitcoin price [BTC to US dollar exchange rate] fell to a two-week low of $3,900 on Tuesday, a market movement that represented the biggest decline for the asset since July.

Triggered by the sudden news from China that the country’s financial regulators would ban initial coin offerings, the decline has also called into question just how big the appetite is for a higher bitcoin price given its 700% year-over-year gains.

However, traders appear to be bullish on the idea it can rise back above $5,000, the all-time high it set last Friday. In fact, traders who missed the rally appear to be utilizing the dip to board the bitcoin freight train – over the last 48 hours, the digital currency has recovered more than 50% of the losses it suffered during the four day period from September 2–5.

At press time, the BTC traded at $4,620, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. Week-on-week, bitcoin is down 2.69%. On a monthly basis, the cryptocurrency is up 34.8%.

Still, while the sharp rally from the weekly low of $3,900 has triggered speculation bitcoin is aiming for the fresh record highs, technical studies say the recovery lacks substance.

Money Flow Index [MFI] does not support further gains

The Money Flow Index (MFI) is an oscillator that uses both price and volume to measure buying and selling pressure. (MFI indicates rising or falling prices always through its own rise or fall.) If the MFI rises above the centre line [50], this is regarded as a buy signal.

Similarly, an intersection going down is regarded as a sell signal.

Daily chart

Bitcoin Breakout - Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

The MFI index is pointing downwards and shows no signs of life despite the sharp recovery from the weekly low of $3,900.

The weakness in the MFI could be an indication that the technical recovery lacks substance, i.e. lacks buying pressure and could have been fuelled by unwinding [profit taking] on the shorts.

4-Hour chart

Bitcoin Breakout - Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

The MFI is close to overbought levels. Typically, an MFI above 80 is considered overbought and MFI below 20 is considered oversold. These levels are often used to identify unsustainable price extremes.

Overbought levels alone are not enough to turn bearish. However, in BTC’s case, the overbought MFI on the 4-hour chart could be read as a signal that the recovery from the low of $3,900 has ended. This is because, the daily MFI is bearish as discussed above.

Furthermore, the decline from the record high of $5,000 was triggered by a bearish price-RSI divergence. A bearish price RSI divergence is formed when prices form higher highs while the oscillator – in this case an RSI – forms significantly lower highs.)

As such, bitcoin’s outlook remains bearish unless we break above $5,000 as such a move would signal the bearish price RSI divergence is no longer valid.

View

Daily chart

Bitcoin Breakout - Price Action Analysis Hints at Possible Pullback

Bullish factors

  • The rising trend line is intact and is likely to offer support at $4,265

Bearish factors

  • As discussed above, the MFI is not in favor of further gains in bitcoin
  • Bearish price-RSI divergence
  • Potential head and shoulders pattern

BTC is more likely to break below $4,265, in which case a lower highs pattern would be confirmed. An uptrend, which is a series of higher highs and higher lows, reverses into a downtrend by changing into a series of lower highs and lower lows.

Lower lows would be confirmed if prices break below the recent low of $4,900.

Also note that a lower highs would increase the odds of the prices forming a head and shoulders [H&S] bearish reversal pattern. The Head and shoulders is a reversal pattern that, when formed, signals the security [in this case bitcoin] is likely to move against the previous trend.

The H&S neckline [line drawn from the left shoulder bottom and right shoulder bottom] support is seen at $3980 levels. A break below the neckline level confirms bullish-to-bearish trend reversal.

Bullish scenario

A break above $4,640 could result in a rally towards $5000, although caution is advised as only a move above $5,000 would make the bearish price-RSI divergence invalid and shall revive the rally set in motion from the July low of $1,826.

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Sep 7, 2017 at 14:20 UTC by Omkar Godbole

 

Posted By David Ogden Entrepreneur

David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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