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Bitcoin Price Recovers 12 in 72 Hours While Traders Remain Cautious in Short-Term

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Bitcoin Price Recovers 12% in 72 Hours While Traders Remain Cautious in Short-Term

Bitcoin Price Recovers 12% in 72 Hours While Traders Remain Cautious in Short-Term

ince December 8, the Bitcoin price has increased from $3,210 to $3,588, by just about 12 percent against the U.S. dollar.

In the same time frame, the cryptocurrency market added $11 billion to its valuation, avoiding a further drop below the $100 billion mark, which could have been critical for the short-term trend of the market.

Most major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have been able to rebound from low double digits, as technical indicators started to demonstrate extremely oversold conditions.

But, traders and technical analysts remain cautious towards the short-term price trend of cryptocurrencies until major resistance levels are broken.

$3,700 For Bitcoin

Since early December, the value of Bitcoin has continuously fallen from the mid-$4,000 region, struggling to maintain its momentum and show any sign of stability.

According to DonAlt, a prominent cryptocurrency technical analyst, until Bitcoin breaks out of the $3,700 resistance level, it will remain in a tight range between $3,300 to $3,600, unable to engage in a major price movement.

The analyst said:

“Another good day for BTC. That said it’s still nowhere close to turning bullish on the higher time frames. While the low timeframes look decent, BTC hasn’t even reclaimed the previous trading range. Until it does, no swing long trades.”

As Alex Krüger, an economist and a cryptocurrency trader, recently emphasized, BTC is in a significantly better position to enter an accumulation phase and a consolidation period because it has been able to minimize its loss during several steep market sell-offs.

When compared to both Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin has kept its value fairly well given the intensity of the market crash throughout the past two months.

ETH and BCH have recorded 93 percent and 95 percent losses respectively against the U.S. dollar, and BTC would have to drop another 72 percent from the current price range to experience a similar drop as the two digital assets.

“Performance from all-time-highs to date, for the main cryptoassets: BTC -82%, XRP -86%, ETH -93%, BCH -95% (using Bitfinex’s data). These may all look equally bad. It is not so. The difference between -82% and -95% is a further 72% drop,” Krüger explained.

Market Still Nervous

Several analysts have reaffirmed that as long as the dominant cryptocurrency remains below $3,700 and struggles to demonstrate a major breakout, the market is at risk of dropping to a new yearly low.

Historically, the cryptocurrency market has taken around 67 weeks on average to recover from a large correction and achieve a new all-time high.

While positive developments like the Nasdaq, Bakkt, and NYSE futures markets are around the corner and are expected to launch in the first quarter of 2019, it could easily take until the second quarter of next year for the cryptocurrency market to begin its recovery.

A proper bottom has not been established by BTC and other major cryptocurrencies, as well as small market cap ERC20 tokens, have not shown any signs of a large corrective rally.

Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView.

POSTED IN: BITCOIN PRICE NEWS, NEWS

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Joseph Young

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Powerful Gospel

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Have you ever not trusted in the power of the gospel to bring people to Christ?

Written by Malcolm Riley

Does the gospel have the power to save anyone?

Have you ever been tempted not to trust in the power of the gospel to bring people to Christ? Sometimes, we as Christians apologize for the message of Christ when talking to those who don’t believe. Romans 1:16 should be a life verse for every Christian! Paul says at the beginning of his letter to the Roman Christians, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of others.” The same gospel that has been saving people for thousands of years is still saving people today. This gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, can change any hard heart—if we will tell it! Our job is to pray and tell people about Christ. For as Paul went on to say, “How will they know if someone doesn’t tell them?”

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

We need to tell people about the whole gospel and not leave out the difficult bits like sin, judgment, and Hell, and only talk about the amazing forgiveness that Christ offers at the cross. This means we will really have to trust the Holy Spirit when we tell people of the gospel. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me.” The power is not in our “sales pitch” of the gospel; the power is in telling the truth about Jesus.

Bring Them to Jesus

We also want to be the kind of people who, like Billy Graham, “Call people to decision!” A great prayer is that we might be like a crossroad in the lives of those we meet: that meeting us would draw someone in one of two directions—either towards Jesus Christ or further away from Him. We don’t want our lives to leave people ignorant about the gospel or comfortable with being neutral. The great preacher Charles H. Spurgeon said we should preach “the whole gospel with a call to decision.”

Push Past the Awkwardness

Every time I come to a point when I am going to challenge someone to pray to receive Jesus Christ, it never feels right. It always feels awkward. But so many have come to Christ when I have felt like this and chosen to go past the pain barrier and preach the gospel with a call to decision. We’ve got to challenge people in spite of being nervous or feeling awkward. It’s so important to not just tell people the gospel but to also challenge them to receive the greatest news in the world! Ask them, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah? Do you wish to follow Him?” If their answer is yes, lead them in confessing their faith in Christ and assure them of their salvation. Ask the Holy Spirit today to make Romans 1:16 your life verse: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation others.”

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Experts Forecast Future of Bitcoin in 2019

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Experts Forecast Future of Bitcoin in 2019

Experts Forecast Future of Bitcoin in 2019

Bitcoin has had a yearlong anticlimax after it rose above $19,000 in December 2017. It currently has fallen below the $3,000 mark and might likely be ending the year on a record low.

Many have called the gradual deflation in the value of crypto signs of a burst. Die-hard proponents think it’s the fall before the rise to new impressive heights. What do the experts say?

Verdict pooled the opinion of crypto experts asking one simple question: What will the price of Bitcoin be in 12 months’ time?

Here are their thoughts.

 

Safer speculation

‘After having experienced a turbulent year in 2018 – one which saw its value collapse from circa $15,000 in January, to just above $3,000 at the time of writing – I do believe that Bitcoin will recover to a value of between $10,000 to 15,000.

‘The inherent volatility of the cryptocurrency means that it is difficult to predict with any kind of finite accuracy. However, the outcome of upcoming events will go a significant way to determining the price.

‘Intercontinental Exchange, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange is planning to launch Bakkt – a federally regulated market which will seamlessly and safely enable institutions and consumers to buy, store and sell crypto assets. Bakkt is supported by corporate leviathans like Microsoft, Starbucks, and the Boston Consulting Group, and stands to bring levels of trust and transparency to the market currently unseen.

‘Similarly, the crypto exchange ErisX recently raised $27.5m from Fidelity Investments and Nasdaq and plans to launch crypto derivatives in the top half of 2019. Fidelity is one of the world’s largest asset managers, controlling resources worth about $2.5trn. Likewise, the Nasdaq operate the second largest stock exchange in the world, after the NYSE.

‘The involvement of such significant financial institutions and ‘mature’ crypto trading products will lead to an appreciation in Bitcoin’s price.

‘A defined regulatory movement will also lead to an improvement in Bitcoin’s price. Proper regulation will make it safer for speculators and will lessen the presence of fraudsters or ill thought out products in the market. Further, it may encourage involvement from institutions, who to this point have been wary of engaging in anything crypto related for reasons of compliance.’

Samuel Leach, CEO, and founder of Yield Coin

 

Regain its footing

‘Our 2019 outlook for Bitcoin is far more constructive than what we had been projecting for 2018. As 2017 came to a close, we had warned Bitcoin had rocketed ‘past the point of rational appreciation’ and highlighted massive downside risk in a bubbling market with far too many holes (regulation, development, hard forks).

‘As we head into 2019, Bitcoin has retraced that move and then some, with a recent breakdown below the $6,000 area, opening this next downside extension that targets a bigger drop towards the September 2017 low at $2,975.

‘While we wouldn’t rule out a downside extension that takes Bitcoin through $2,000, we don’t believe the price will spend too much time below this barrier and will start to find renewed demand ahead of an eventual push back to the topside.

‘As much as the crypto market would like to make the argument for Bitcoin as a store of value asset, at this stage in the game, Bitcoin is not yet mature enough in its ten-year life to be taking on such a role as a harbour for flight to safety. Ultimately, we believe risk markets are still quite exposed to the reality of exhausted monetary policy accommodation, and investor profit taking in elevated equities, will likely lead to a flight to safety bid that has a lot of that speculative money in Bitcoin, heading for safer horizons into traditional risk off plays.

‘But we also believe there is tremendous potential that comes with decentralized, digital, peer to peer currency, and as we begin to see the possibilities more clearly, Bitcoin will regain its footing and get back to trading to the topside.

‘This leaves us with an outlook for Bitcoin in 2019 that could see a continuation of weakness in the first half of the year, before the market finally stabilizes and starts to make its way back up in anticipation of what should be an impressive second wave for crypto assets.

‘We’ll look for Bitcoin to round out 2019 trading back in the $5,000 to $8,000 region, after recovering from lows that may have extended below $2000 between now and the end of H1 2019.’

Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Exchange

Surviving the crash

‘Despite Bitcoin’s fairly limited use cases, and even though its technology may be less sophisticated when compared to some other projects, it will likely continue to remain the market leader in 2019. Bitcoin still has the reputation and the liquidity that make it preferable to other cryptos.

‘It’s difficult to put my finger on a price, however: Bitcoin’s value will continue to be driven by a great deal of financial speculation.

‘It’s important to remember that the crash we saw with Bitcoin this year doesn’t indicate lack of long-term value. The bubble may have burst in 2018, but there’s still enormous substance and potential in the crypto market at large.

‘The dot-com bubble was a great example of this in action. What old school analyst saw tangible value in the internet? Amazon’s stock dropped to a low of $6 when the .com bubble burst, and today, the company trades at $1,500 per share.

‘The cryptos that survive this crash will continue to gain strength next year, and in the years to come. Like Amazon and eBay, out of a collection of cryptos that fail, a small but significant minority will succeed.’

Kevin Murcko, CEO of CoinMetro

 

High volatility

‘We expect a high degree of volatility in the very near future.

‘A high level of Bitcoins has recently been moved from cold storage to hot storage by significant influencers in the cryptocurrency market. What this means is that investors who have the ability to move the market are gearing up to trade. This could mean moves greater than 10% in either direction.

‘There are notable levels of support and resistance with support around the $2,850 level for Bitcoin and resistance around $4,000 therefore a break either below $2,850 or above $4,000 could lead to momentum in that direction.

‘We believe that Bitcoin will eventually shrug off the recent weakness during 2019 and expect the price to retest record highs of $20,000 by December 2019. This is justified on a number of fronts.

We expect an ETF in Bitcoin to be authorised by the SEC in 2019. We expect continued adoption of certain cryptocurrencies such as Ripple (XRP) by banking institutions during 2019, which will have the knock-on effect of positivity for Bitcoin as other cryptocurrencies tend to be ‘pegged’ to Bitcoin.

‘We also believe that once the sell off has finished there will be modest headroom above the current price which will allow for buying momentum.

‘During the dotcom boom, the price of Apple shares went from $1 to $4 before ‘collapsing’ to $1 again. It now trades at around $176 per share at the time of writing, therefore anyone fearing the worst after the dotcom boom would have missed out whereas anyone with a bit of courage and forward thinking would have seen significant returns.’

Mitch Blakeway, Head of Trading at Quantatex

 

Positive outlook

‘Previous Cryptreium research identified a Bitcoin support area in the range between $3,000 to $5,000. At the moment, Bitcoin is actively trading in this range.

‘Based on the existence of important fundamental factors such as the launch of BAKKT ICE and NASDAQ futures, 2019 is expected to be positive for price dynamics.

‘Technical analysis based on logarithmic scale shows the expected price levels that bitcoin can reach in 2019. Bitcoin is likely to reach a price of around $12,000, which will be an excellent result and can initiate a further growth in 2020. 2020 is close to another important date – the BTC ‘halving’.’

George Ermakov, Head of Research & Development at Crypterium

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin to rise to 333333 following a 2500 imminent bottom: Bobby Lee

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Bitcoin to rise to $333,333, following a $2,500 imminent bottom: Bobby Lee

Bitcoin to rise to $333,333, following a $2,500 imminent bottom: Bobby Lee

Bobby Lee, the co-founder of the Hong-Kong based cryptocurrency exchange BTCC and a board member of the Bitcoin Foundation, has predicted that Bitcoin [BTC] could skyrocket to $333,333, after it plummets to a bottom of $2,500.

Lee expects the bears to continue to torment the cryptocurrency market, leading to a fall of 27.4 percent against the current BTC price, dropping down to $2,500 by January 2019, its lowest point since July 2017.

He further stated that the next upswing would begin in late 2020, achieving an unprecedented high of $333,333 by December 2021 following another market crash to $41,000 by January 2023.

If history repeats perfectly, then the current bear market for #Bitcoin would bottom out at $2,500 next month, in Jan 2019.

And then the next rally would start in late 2020, peak out in Dec 2021 at $333,000, and then crash back down to $41,000 in Jan 2023.

Something like that????? https://t.co/M8ljIVnt73

— Bobby Lee (@bobbyclee) December 7, 2018

Basing his chronological prediction on the market trends, as far back as December 2013, when Bitcoin reached an all-time high of close to $1,200, before settling back down to under $300 by 2015. As Bitcoin approached 2017, the top crypto held well over 80 percent of the entire virtual currency market.

Investors began to notice the dominance of cryptocurrency in early 2017, when the coin’s price broke the $1,000 mark in January and the $3,000 in the next eight months, following which it soared to as high as $19,000 during the infamous December 2017 bull-run.

On a year-to-year basis, Bitcoin has dropped by 82.57 percent from its highest valuation of $19,783 in December to its current price of $3,447. The cryptocurrency markets, which has a 54 percent Bitcoin stake currently, has felt the brunt of the Bitcoin collapse, falling by over $100 billion in a month since the beginning of November.

Crypto-proponents were gunning for a December 2018 bull run mimicking the previous year, but were taken aback by the November meltdown, triggered by Bitcoin Cash. Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Investment Partners predicted a rally at the end of 2018, pushing Bitcoin up to $8,700. At press time, the coin has fallen by 60.3 percent from the aforementioned prediction to the current price $3,447.

Tom Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors in mid-November during the peak of the crash, affirmed his earlier prediction that Bitcoin would reach $15,000 by the year’s end. Lee pegged his hopes on investors viewing the virtual currency, not as a “commodity,” but as an “emerging asset class.”

 

By aakash

Dec 08?2018 11:17 AM

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin BTC Price Analysis – Bears Push for Wedge Break

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis - Bears Push for Wedge Break

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis – Bears Push for Wedge Break

Bitcoin recently broke below its falling wedge consolidation to signal that selling pressure is picking up.

Bitcoin broke below its falling wedge consolidation pattern to signal that bearish momentum is picking up. However, price seems to be stalling at the $3,300 level so a pull back to the broken areas of interest may be in order.

Applying the Fib retracement tool on the latest swing high and low shows that the 50% level lines up with the broken wedge support which might be enough to keep gains in check on a correction. The 61.8% Fib is back inside the wedge but might still serve as resistance since it’s close to the 100 SMA dynamic inflection point.

On the subject of moving averages, the 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside. In other words, the sell off is more likely to resume than to reverse. In addition, the gap between the moving averages is widening to reflect increased selling momentum.

RSI is already indicating oversold conditions, though, and turning higher could show that buyers might be ready to take over. Stochastic is heading south but is also in the oversold region to signal that sellers are feeling exhausted.

Bitcoin seems to have gotten another blow from the SEC announcement to once again delay their ruling on the bitcoin ETF. Although there were already hints earlier from SEC Chairperson Clayton that they’re not likely to approve the proposed rule change anytime soon, the actual decision still seemed to inspire a wave of selling.

However, it’s also important to note that this decision comes after a meeting with representatives from VanEck and SolidX on how ETFs on gold and other commodities may be comparable to the one they’re proposing on bitcoin. In fact, the companies pointed out that bitcoin ETFs may be less prone to market manipulation, so the decision to delay instead of completely reject might prove to be a positive development.

 

Rachel Lee by Rachel Lee December 7, 2018 in Bitcoin Price Analysis

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin going to 1500- Bloomberg Analyst

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Bitcoin going to $1500- Bloomberg Analyst

Bitcoin going to $1500- Bloomberg Analyst

Mike McGlone, a Bloomberg intelligence analyst has predicted that bitcoin is possibly going to fall to $1500 soon. Bitcoin price fell down yesterday up to $3668 which is quite near the yearly low of $3522 that was achieved just a few days back on November 26. Bitcoin remained stable above $3900 for a few days but could not hold on to the selling pressure and crashed hard yesterday and may soon test the $3500 support yet again.

 

Bloomberg Report

Bitcoin price started its crash in May this year while trading above $9000 and falling to $6500 in July due to massive selling in just a matter of two months.

According to the report published by Bloomberg intelligence analyst, bitcoin and other prominent cryptos will likely fall and bitcoin can turn up to $1500 soon. The price of bitcoin has fallen more than 80% from the last December when it was trading around $19500. According to Mike, the price would fall around 60% from the current price.

Mike also mentioned that there is quite little to stop the price of bitcoin to fall to $1500, the reason starting from bitcoin cash hard fork and year-end tax purposes, and many other matters.

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a huge amount of selling in the month of November which resulted in billions being washed off from the crypto market. Mike mentioned that the market is currently reversing the rise of 2017.

 

Crackdown by SEC

The SEC is continuously engaged in cracking down the cryptocurrency space. In November, SEC had imposed huge fines on two companies that did not register their ICO as securities with the SEC. Cryptocurrency investors have been waiting for the approval of Bitcoin ETF from a long time but according to last week’s statement of SEC’s head, there is still an absence of investor protection in the crypto space, therefore the approval of Bitcoin ETF will not be done anytime soon.

 

Market Crash

The market crash of November this year has been the worst crash since 2011. According to Mike, lower prices help to reduce volatility in the market. Mike also mentioned that the current price drop is somewhat positive as due to lower prices there is lower volatility, less speculation, and the preponderance of stable coins.

Other cryptocurrency analysts also predict a drop in prices but higher than $1500. Some are predicting $2500 to be the lowest price while other predict $3000. On the other side, Tom Lee, the bitcoin bull is still predicting $15000 price at the end of this month.

 

Published 44 mins ago on December 5, 2018 By Layla Harding Mike McGlone,

 

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Price Analysis – One More Triangle Bottom

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Bitcoin Price Analysis - One More Triangle Bottom

Bitcoin Price Analysis – One More Triangle Bottom

Bitcoin broke below a previous triangle consolidation but may be finding support at a larger one.

Bitcoin made a triangle breakdown earlier on but seems to be finding some support at a larger triangle bottom. Price bounced off the $3,800 area but is making another test and might be attempting another break.

The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside. In other words, support is more likely to break than to hold. In that case, bitcoin could slide by the same height as this chart formation, which spans $3,500 to $4,600.

RSI is still heading lower to reflect the presence of bearish pressure. However, the oscillator is nearing the oversold region to reflect exhaustion. Turning higher could confirm that buyers are ready to return and might push for a move back to the triangle top at $4,100. Similarly stochastic is dipping into the oversold region but has yet to turn higher to signal a return in bullish pressure.

More and more mainstream coverage on the recent slump in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is piling on the FUD that’s currently weighing on prices. Although the improvement in sentiment last week from revived expectations on institutional investment propped bitcoin higher, it seems that traders are hoping to get actual developments before sustaining any rallies.

Still, a lot of analysts are holding on to their bullish bets and this may be why bulls continue to defend nearby support levels. Some expect bitcoin to make a strong rebound before the end of 2019 while some believe that it could take place as early as Q1 2019.

According to a recently published A.T. Kearney report:

“By the end of 2019, Bitcoin will reclaim nearly two-thirds of the crypto-market capitalization as altcoins lose their luster because of growing risk aversion among cryptocurrency investors. More broadly financial regulators will soften their stance towards the sector.”

 

Author Rachel Lee December 5, 2018

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Price Analysis – BTCUSD Another Day Another Breakdown

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Bitcoin Price Analysis - BTC/USD Another Day, Another Breakdown

Bitcoin Price Analysis – BTC/USD Another Day, Another Breakdown

Bitcoin previously consolidated inside a symmetrical triangle to pause from its selloff, but it looks like bears are still in control. Price broke below the triangle bottom at $4,000 major psychological level to signal that another slide is in the works.

The 100 SMA is starting to cross below the longer-term 200 SMA as additional confirmation of bearish pressure. However, RSI seems ready to climb out of the oversold region to indicate that buyers might take over while sellers take a break. Similarly stochastic is moving north so bitcoin could follow suit.

Bitcoin is also trending inside a small descending channel and is bouncing off the bottom. A pull back to the top might be due before sellers return again. This lines up with the broken triangle support that might now hold as resistance and also the moving averages dynamic inflection points.

Bitcoin has given way to FUD once more as last week’s updates didn’t seem enough to sustain any recoveries. As it is, more and more media outlets continue to cover the bloodbath and are likely convincing more holders to liquidate. Recall that revived focus on institutional investments allowed bitcoin to pause from its sell off and many hoped that it could be followed by an even larger bounce.

Traders might have been able to digest the latest SEC commentary on how the lack of consumer protection measures in the crypto market means that they’re not likely to approve any bitcoin ETF applications anytime soon. This puts the industry a huge step back as it would mean other altcoins would have to wait much longer.

Bulls are also likely holding out for bigger developments instead of mere speculations. For now, it looks like the slide could carry on until actual evidence of a pickup in volumes from institutional investors early next year are seen.

 

SARA JENN · DECEMBER 4, 2018 · 12:30 AM

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Prices Down – Leaders Call for Crypto Taxation

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Bitcoin Prices Down - Leaders Call for Crypto Taxation

Bitcoin Prices Down – Leaders Call for Crypto Taxation ?

Investing.com – Bitcoin and other major cyptocurrencies all slipped on Monday in Asia, pressured by reports that G20 leaders had called for taxes on cryptocurrencies during a summit over the weekend in Argentina.

Bitcoin lost 5.04% to $4,041.3 by 10:31 PM ET (03:31?GMT) on the?Investing.com index.?Ethereum was down 4.59% to $114.34, and XRP dropped 3.37% to $0.36319 on the?Poloniex?exchange.???

Litecoin?also slid?5.53% to $32.10?on the?Bitifinex?exchange.?

Bitcoin continues to hover at the $4,000 range after losing roughly 40% of its value since mid-November.

On Monday morning, media reported that members of the G20 agreed to work on international effort to regulate cryptocurrencies in line with standards stipulated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization launched in 1989.

The move is seen as an effort to curb tax evasion by investors and traders of crypto-assets. G20 members, included crypto-assets in the joint declaration at the end of the summit.

“We will regulate crypto-assets for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in line with FATF standards and we will consider other responses as needed,” reads a section of the declaration.

G20 members are also looking to build a system of taxation for cross-border electronic services, with the joint declaration noting that the group will “work together to seek a consensus-based solution to address the impacts of the digitalization of the economy on the international tax system with an update in 2019 and a final report by 2020.”

 

Source Investing.com Cryptocurrency News

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Report: Bitcoin Mining Benefits Global Economy is Not Detrimental to Environment

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Report: Bitcoin Mining Benefits Global Economy, is Not Detrimental to Environment

Report: Bitcoin Mining Benefits Global Economy, is Not Detrimental to Environment

A new study by Coinshares has revealed that about 78 percent of Bitcoin miners use renewable energy when operating their mining businesses, while China has taken steps to prevent wastage of surplus electricity. Contrary to the mainstream media demonising Bitcoin mining operations as environmentally degrading, the UK-based digital asset management company argues that nost mining operations buy electricity as a “last resort”.

China has taken some major leaps in terms of generating clean energy, with the government pouring billions of dollars into solar, wind and hydroelectric power. With almost 60% of the world’s bitcoin mining operation happening in China itself, the clean power move has resulted in an excess of that energy being used, the report noted.

Situations are similar in the Pacific Northwest, with renewable energy dominating mining operations all across British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Scandinavia, whose mines generate almost 35% of the global Bitcoin share is also seeing an upsurge in the use of renewable energy.

China’s large-scale investments have caused stress on the electricity grids, resulting in grid operators to refuse to accept surplus renewable energy capacity, in a move termed as ‘curtailing’. According to the report, most of the Chinese miners are using this curtailed electricity instead of letting it go to waste.

The report noted that large sections of these mining operations were using renewables. For example, China’s Sichuan province which is home to a big chunk of the country’s mining operation is using almost 90 percent of its energy from renewable sources.

Researchers from the University of Hawaii looked at how Bitcoin mining contributed to the world’s carbon emissions as compared to other conventional forms of technology that are used in our daily lives. But it turned out to be a difficult task to quantify its carbon footprint due to its computationally demanding process and the use of multiple, expensive pieces of technology.

The report reveals that 77.6 per cent of the world’s cryptocurrency miners use renewable sources of energy such as hydro power, making it “greener than almost every other large-scale industry in the world.” The researchers also noted that miners were environmentally conscious themselves, with cooler mining regions of Northern China saving up electricity on cooling systems for the mining hardware.

The report concluded by stating that although the miners were self-serving in that they simply looked for the most cost-effective sources of energy to mine cryptocurrency, they inadvertently also made the majority of the industry more environment-friendly than most other industries.

 

By Debarun Gupta

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