Bitcoin could take a major chunk of change from gold, crypto expert says

Bitcoin back above $7,000 has crypto bulls believing in the rally again. To one crypto expert, the leading cryptocurrency’s long-term move could be stratospheric.

Such a move will be fueled by a maturing crypto market that could lure investors out of physical gold and into “digital gold,” says Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital asset strategies at VanEck/MVIS.

“Gold today has around $7 trillion outstanding. If you take, say, 5 to 10 percent — I’ll let everyone do the math — bitcoin has upside,” he explained on CNBC’s “Futures Now” on Thursday.

Bitcoin currently has a market cap of $128 billion, according to Coindesk. If 10 percent of the gold trade were to shift into bitcoin, it would more than triple its market cap, by Gurbacs’ calculations.

“Bitcoin is used as digital gold today. It’s a de-risk asset. Basically if someone wants to outlay systematic risk, then one would go to access gold or digital gold (bitcoin),” he added.

Before bitcoin can take off, the crypto market first needs to evolve to address a few topics of consternation to institutional investors, says Gurbacs. He counts marketwide pricing and valuation and customer protection and compliance as among those issues.

There are 120 different exchanges out there, he says, and often the price of bitcoin changes from platform to platform. His firm, VanEck/MVIS, is addressing that issue with independent pricing benchmarks.

Gurbacs is optimistic the crypto market can change and mature to mirror more traditional investments.

“We believe that there is sufficient liquidity. We believe there is pricing benchmarks. We believe there is a way to integrate bitcoin into the financial ecosystem that we are used to for ETFs, stocks, bonds and commodities,” he explained.

The bitcoin rally found its momentum again this week after sinking to a year-to-date low below $6,000 in late June. The cryptocurrency now trades at $7,457.

Author Keris Lahiff

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Bust pensions firm ordered to pay out thousands in Bitcoin row

THE director of a dissolved pensions firm has been ordered by The Pensions Ombudsman to pay £3,000 compensation to an investor and explain whether he invested her £19,000 into the Bitcoin Store.

Former journalist Pam Spooner transferred money from her Express Newspapers pension pot to Alternative Pensions Plan Trustees Ltd with the understanding it would be used to buy 113 Bitcoins.

However, the Kerswell Green-based firm then went bust without ever confirming where her investment had gone, according to ombudsman Anthony Arter's report.

Company director Ross White has until Wednesday (July 25) to provide proof that he invested the 64-year-old’s £18,924 pension fund into the Bitcoin Store, or if not, where it went.

“It’s just a pension transfer and me wanting to know where did the money go?" said Ms Spooner, who went to school in Malvern but now lives in the South West.

She said the money is her “only significant pension pot”, having moved around to various companies during her career, and after much research,had decided to invest it in Bitcoin.

She has been told by an independent financial adviser friend that it could be the highest pay out ever directed by The Pensions Ombudsman.

Ms Spooner transferred the money to APP – which is authorised by the HMRC and Pensions Regulator – in December 2014, receiving an invoice the following March to say it had been paid into the Bitcoin Store.

Months later she attempted to contact APP to get a pension drawdown by selling 13 bitcoins, which she calculated would be worth about £10,000 – later learning the company had been dissolved.

Ms Spooner said she then contacted various organisation’s such as Action Fraud and the Financial Conduct Authority, before take the case to the ombudsman with the ruling coming last week.

“It’s been a nightmare for the last three years,” said Ms Spooner. “All I’ve ever wanted to know is where he sent my money to? Did he put it in Bitcoin or has he still got it? I don’t know where my £19,000 went. That’s why the ombudsman came down heavily, I think.”

The report said Mr White had claimed an investment in the Bitcoin Store was not approved by the scheme’s financial advisor, “as it is not acceptable under HMRC’s rules and not approved by the plan”.

However, the ombudsman said if that was the case, the trustee “should not have proceeded with the investment” and advised Ms Spooner accordingly.

It added that if the investment had been made in Bitcoins then it is “probable that it would have grown substantially”.

“If the investment was made then Mr White should provide bank statements to show that a transfer to the Bitcoin Store was made,” the report said.

It said Mr White’s failure to answer this question both to the complainant and the ombudsman’s office, “amounted to maladministration and would have been a source of considerable distress”.

Mr White said: “This matter is still an open case with the ombudsman. To date, I have not received a reply to my most recent communication, although on contacting the WN they have a letter from the Pensions Ombudsman dated July 11.

"Many of the assertions contained in the determination have been refuted and I am still awaiting a return call from Christopher Rattigan [senior adjudicator].”

By Chris Vaughan

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Bullish Pattern Confirmation

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch - Bullish Pattern Confirmation

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Bullish Pattern Confirmation!

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

Bitcoin price finally broke above the neckline of its inverse head and shoulders pattern to signal that a rally is underway.
The chart pattern is around $1,000 tall so the uptrend has room to go, but a pullback might take place.
Technical indicators are showing mixed signals while sentiment favors more bitcoin price gains.

Bitcoin price made a strong upside break from the neckline of its inverse head and shoulders pattern.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA just crossed above the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This confirms that the reversal is more likely to gain traction than to retreat.

The chart pattern spans $5,800 to $6,800 so the resulting uptrend could be of the same size. This could be enough to take bitcoin price to $7,800 so it’s not too late to join the rally. However, stochastic is already indicating overbought conditions so there may be some profit-taking here.

Once the oscillator heads south, bitcoin price might follow suit and retest the broken neckline before resuming the climb. Stochastic is also in overbought territory to indicate that buyers are exhausted and that sellers might take over.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Market Factors

The recent run higher is being attributed to the pickup in institutional interest after it was reported that hedge funds are looking to invest in the space. In particular, confirmation from BlackRock’s CEO that the world’s largest asset manager formed a team to look at crypto investments drew traders back to bitcoin.

It’s worth noting that the US dollar also had a good run in recent sessions but proved no match to bitcoin strength. Risk appetite popped back in the US session and investor confidence may have also contributed to bitcoin price gains.

Positive views on the regulatory moves in South Korea are also being lauded for shoring up the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency market. Although other notable developments were reported in the past weeks, it seems that most

SARAH JENN | JULY 18, 2018 | 4:09 AM

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Waiting for Reversal Confirmation

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

Bitcoin price has completed its inverse head and shoulders reversal pattern and is now awaiting confirmation.
Price is testing the neckline at $6,800 and an upside break could spur a $1,000 climb.
Technical indicators are showing mixed signals but longer-term bullish momentum could start building up.

Bitcoin price is testing the neckline of its reversal formation and confirmation could lead to a climb to $7,800 and beyond.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is crossing above the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This means that there’s a stronger chance for the reversal to be sustained from here. Bitcoin price has also moved past the moving averages’ dynamic inflection points to signal stronger bullish momentum.

However, RSI is already indicating overbought conditions to show that buyers are feeling exhausted. Stochastic has also climbed all the way up to the overbought region to signal profit-taking and a likely dip. The moving averages could still hold as near-term support but a break below the right shoulder could signal a return in selling pressure.

A break past the neckline could lead to an uptrend of at least the same height as the chart formation. This spans $5,800 to $6,800 so the rally could last by at least $1,000 to take bitcoin price up to $7,800 or higher.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin price got a strong boost from confirmation that BlackRock is looking into investing in the cryptocurrency industry. CEO Larry Fink noted in an interview with Reuters that the company has formed a team to analyze the sector but clarified that they’re not seeing strong investor demand yet.

Still, this appears enough to revive investor optimism as institutional interest represents a lot of confidence in the industry. This comes after more conservative but well-known economists criticized cryptocurrencies for their anonymity and price volatility.

SARAH JENN | JULY 17, 2018 | 4:21 AM

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch- Down But Not Out

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch- Down But Not Out!

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

Bitcoin price appears to be keeping its head above the near-term area of interest at the channel support.
If a bounce back to the resistance happens, an inverse head and shoulders pattern could also be completed.
A break past the channel top could be enough to confirm that a long-term uptrend is underway.

Bitcoin price is staying above the $6,300 area of interest to signal that bulls are putting up a good fight.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is starting to cross above the longer-term 200 SMA to suggest that bearish momentum is over and that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This means that the reversal could gain more traction from here, especially once the crossover is completed.

In that case, support at the ascending channel could keep holding as this lines up with an area of interest or former support and resistance level. Price could find its way back to the channel top at $7,200, which would also be above the neckline of a reversal pattern.

Bitcoin price continues to attempt to complete the inverse head and shoulders formation on this 4-hour time frame, and this is considered a potent reversal signal. The pattern would span $5,800 to $6,800 or $1,000 in height, so the resulting uptrend could be of at least the same size.

However, RSI is already closing in on the overbought zone and is showing intention to head back down. This could mean that sellers are eager to push bitcoin price south again. Similarly stochastic is starting to turn upon reaching overbought territory so bitcoin could follow suit.

Market Factors

Bitcoin price was off to a rallying start in July but most of these gains were returned last week on negative commentary and another exchange hack. US authorities also indicted twelve Russian officials for using cryptocurrency in interfering with the 2016 elections.

This time, the focus could remain on related headlines that could determine whether the bullish run could resume or if another set of downbeat updates could force a continuation of the earlier slide

SARAH JENN | JULY 16, 2018 | 3:57 AM

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BITCOIN BEARISH TREND MAY BE OVER VERY SOON

Trends tend to be reversed. The year of 2018 has seen Bitcoin (BTC) demonstrate both its volatility and bearish nature. However, the second half of 2017 the crypto community witnessed the exact opposite. What does the remainder for 2018 have in store?

BITCOIN LAST WEEK

Bitcoin’s price $6287.77 +0.18% bounced around due to FUD regarding a hack on Binance and positive news about Coinbase’s announcement of Coinbase Custody. Launching the service was great for the crypto-community because institutional capital will now have an easier route to enter the market.

This will not only bring more legitimacy to the market, but it also helps boost prices through increased demand. Unfortunately, right after Coinbase’s positive announcement, FUD came out of every corner of the crypto-communities reporting channels of a hack on Binance. While there was an unethical trading strategy going on with the SYS token, it was not an actually a hack and funds were ‘safu.’

Binance came out of the FUD unscathed as they were not at fault as they handled the situation as proactively as could be expected. Even so, whenever there is wide-spread news of a hack on a large exchange, the public sentiment rapidly plummets along with the price of Bitcoin.

That is where Bitcoin started this week. While the trend analysis tools leaned towards the bearish market ending, it may, unfortunately, be deciding to stay bearish until early August.

THIS WEEK

The cryptocurrency market had lost twenty-two billion USD in valuation (across all cryptocurrencies) as Bitcoin dropped to under $6,400. Frequently, when such a bear market trend begins to show, a corrective rally comes stampeding through the market. However, this was not the case this week.

Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has not shown any positive momentum that would foreshadow such a corrective rally. On July 10, Ethereum $437.501 +0.38% had an exceptionally large drop, dropping more than five percent of its value against the US dollar.

While most cryptocurrencies, both large and small hard caps, tend to follow Bitcoin’s current trend, the current drop in the value of ETH may not be correlated to Bitcoin as ETH has other issues going on. (MyEtherWallet (MEW) and the Bancor scandal).

While this negative news pertained more to Ethereum than it did to Bitcoin, the mainstream public tends to look at the entire crypto-market as one. When one large crypto has negative news, it impacts the entire industry.

AN OPTIMISTIC FUTURE

Blockchain technology is continuing to show an increasing amount of societal applications and more countries are continuing to adapt to this evolving technological world we are living in today. Positive events and news continue to emerge discussing the regulatory infrastructure surrounding cryptocurrencies in leading markets and countries like South Korea, Japan, and many more. Recently, South Korea acknowledged that both cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies are legitimate industries.

Major exchanges in the United States, such as Coinbase, have established solutions to allow institutional investors a smoother way of entering the crypto-market. Coinbase has over twenty billion dollars in cryptocurrencies on its exchange and a user base of over twenty million on its platform. After seeing the profits in the market, these giants likely to join the market and pump their financial resources into the crypto-industry.

As Conbase’s Custody service just launched last week, the vast amounts of institutional money have not had the time to enter the market yet, and therefore, the market has not shown a reaction from a massive flow of incoming capital.

However, the most important date in the upcoming three months for the entire crypto space is pegged for the SEC hearing on Bitcoin ETFs scheduled for mid-August.

The CBOE applied to allow ETFs entrance into purchasing BTC directly (this is vastly different than future contracts). When the CBOE received approval to begin trading futures contracts of BTC last year BTC ended its bear market and rallied from under $2,000 to $20,000.

The SEC has denied every application for ETF market entrants for the prior 8 years. If they approve the CBOE (which should be expected given the CBOE has met the stringent requirements set forth by the SEC), it is likely the same trend from last year occurs.

The SEC has denied prior ETF applicants due to their lack of insurance and lack of infrastructure, the CBOE has met both these requirements. If the SEC were to approve a party to begin ETF purchasing of crypto, whom better than the CBOE? The bear market should begin to rebound due to ETFs entering the crypto market, along with hundreds of billions of dollars in institutional money.

While the crypto-community wants to see a rebound and there are many reasons to be optimistic, the market is still showing a strong bearish trend. The continued positive global awareness and acceptance will lead to more successful projects and decentralized applications stemming from the blockchain community, which will result in a rising Bitcoin value.

As more and more cryptos prove to be secure, transparent and successful, there will likely be a rally in the next few months. Experts predict that this rally will not happen until the fourth quarter of 2018 unless the SEC does approve ETF entrance into the crypto space (which if I were a betting man, I’d say the CBOE meets the stringent SEC requirements).

JAKETHECRYPTOKING · @JBTHECRYPTOKING | JUL 14, 2018 | 17:00

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ZCASH Mining 400% More Profitable Than Bitcoin (BTC)

ZCASH Mining 400% More Mrofitable Than Bitcoin (BTC)

Zcash (ZEC) is currently the most profitable cryptocurrency for those into crypto mining, with a Return of Investment that far outperforms any other token in the market, including those cryptos with the largest market cap such as BTC, ETH or BCH.

Miners to turn off equipment in Crypto HourAccording to data provided by Anything Crypto, Zcash miners using an Antminer Z9 Mini can expect a return on investment of almost 100% even in the most skeptical scenarios.

To put the calculations in perspective, the second most profitable crypto is Ether. Mining it with an Antminer E3 would yield a return of $1212 in one year, which represents a 151 ROI given that the miner has a cost of $800. The Z9 Mini which costs USD 2k would generate USD 6881, resulting in a 344% profit. Such figures depict the most optimistic scenarios.

The calculations made by anything crypto provide 3 different situation

A current scenario: In which there is absolutely no change. It is taken for reference purposes
An optimistic scenario: 15% difficulty increase monthly and a 10% price increase monthly
A pessimistic scenario: 40% difficulty increase monthly8% price increase monthly

Zcash: A Nice Opportunity

The mining of cryptocurrencies began as a hobby for enthusiasts, however, after the exponential increase in its use, it became increasingly lucrative to the point of becoming one of the business par excellence in the world of cryptocurrencies, competing directly with trading.

The PoW coin mining business has specific particularities that must be taken into account when investing in an ASIC or Mining Rig. The first of these is the mining difficulty.

The difficulty makes it possible to establish certain stability in the cryptocurrency avoiding an excessive number of block validations to decrease the value of the tokens or a lack of validation, which is equally damaging.

When the speed of validtions increases, the blockchain algorithm increases its difficulty, making it necessary to work harder to “mine” a block. The same is right in the opposite case.

This is the reason for the different scenarios put forward by Everything Crypto. But in all of them – at least for now – Zcash is the winner regarding profits.

For those who have a preference for BTC, the most profitable ASIC is the GMO B2 while for ETH it is worth buying an Antminer E3. Interestingly, the Antminer S9, Bitmain ranks 8 flagship team while its improved version, the S9i is ranked 6th.

By Jose Antonio Lanz Last updated Jul 14, 2018

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Bitcoin Price Defends $6K As Upside Potential Builds

Bitcoin (BTC) may be up slightly at the start of Friday's session, but it remains to be seen if it can build traction above $6,000.

The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is now down 37 percent from its May 5th high at $9,996 according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index, though it's rebounded to a crucial support zone at $6,235, according to Bitfinex data.

The figure is notable, as it could be argued bitcoin needs a daily close above the previous low at $6,070 to abort bearish outlook for the coming week. This would provide greater confidence to the market as a whole, and could possibly spark another minor bullish revival seen over the last eight days.

And so far in today's session, it appears a bullish reversal pattern might be playing out.

The inverse head and shoulders pattern as reported by CoinDesk yesterday continues to remain in play as the bears were unable to push the right shoulder below the neckline located at $6,064, adding to the strong possibility of a head-and-shoulders reversal.

Daily chart

Provided the H&S pattern stands, the Fibonacci Retracement tool (taken from previous high on May 5 to July 12 bottom of the current bullish reversal candle) shows significant resistance awaits at $6,400, $6900, $7,021 and $8,046.

The 55 exponential moving average (red line) also remains well above the current price, which suggests the troubled crypto remains bearish in the long term until prices start to crash through the crucial $7,000 resistance zone.

Further, the channel between $6,070 and $7,012 remains an incredible uphill battle for the world's most infamous digital cryptocurrency.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily so far offers some solace to back the current H&S reversal which is currently bouncing from the 41.8 point line, previously seen as resistance.

If it holds above and remains within the channel (between 41 and 53) another attempt to push toward previous resistances at $6,472 could be possible.

View

Bitcoin risked falling below the current inverse H&S neckline around $6,073 but has since recovered slightly to keep the pattern in play.
RSI has yet to dip significantly – adding room for further upward momentum
Acceptance below $6,000 would invalidate bullish technical setup.
Bulls would like acceptance above $6,400 to abort short-term bearish perspective.

Author Sebastian Sinclair Jul 13, 2018 at 03:00 UTC

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis: Range-Bound Action?

Bitcoin is consolidating at the middle of its range in what seems to be a continuation signal.

BITCOIN PRICE ANALYSIS

Bitcoin has found support at the $5,800 handle and resistance at $6,800 but is currently sitting right at the middle. Price seems to be stuck in a bearish flag, which is often considered a continuation signal.

In that case, bitcoin could tumble back to the bottom of its range to test support before buyers return. The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA after all, so the path of least resistance might be to the downside. In addition, both moving averages appear to have held as dynamic resistance levels.

However, the gap between the moving averages has narrowed to signal weakening bearish pressure and a potential upward crossover. In that case, bullish momentum could return and push bitcoin price back to the resistance.

Pic

In that case, the inverse head and shoulders could be completed and a break past the range resistance or neckline could spur an even longer-term rally.

RSI reached oversold levels and has started to pull up, also hinting at a return in bullish momentum. Stochastic just made its way to oversold territory and has yet to turn higher.

Bitcoin is on the back foot once more, erasing almost half the gains posted in the previous week on negative commentary and overall risk aversion. Trade tensions are worsening, boosting demand for the safe-haven dollar even as retaliatory measures could hurt its economy.

Hawkish commentary from Fed official Evans also helped shore up demand for the dollar as he expressed support for two more hikes this year, after previously dissenting the December 2017 hike. This also supported investor confidence that the US economy can weather any uncertainties from trade troubles as Evans acknowledged the strong support from fiscal policy.

Traders are now holding out for further catalysts, whether it be more negative remarks that push it back down or positive developments in the industry.

By Rachel Lee On Jul 12, 2018

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Bitcoin is the best bet for cryptocurrency investors, says Wall Street trader

Bitcoin, with its established use cases, is still the best bet for investors, says Bart Smith of Susquehanna International Group.
The Wall Street crypto trader says bitcoin is the currency of the internet.

Bitcoin is still the best bet for crypto investors as people are "functionally using" it, Bart Smith told CNBC.

"If you want to own the asset that you can actually use today and that people are functionally using, it’s bitcoin," Smith, head of digital asset at trading giant Susquehanna International Group, said on "Fast Money" Tuesday.

"The use case for bitcoin is valid today, which is the currency of the internet," he added.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been just one of many digital coins in the crypto universe that has been under increased scrutiny in recent months as regulators try to determine how cryptocurrency should be used.

But the fact that bitcoin has established use cases is what gives it the competitive advantage over other cryptocurrencies, Smith said.

Last fall, when bitcoin futures were announced, "people got very excited about bitcoin," he said. "They got really excited about all these other tokens and use cases. And all of the sudden you saw all of these smaller tokens, as people got excited about them, massively outperform. We got way ahead of ourselves."

"If you’re looking at these other use cases, smart contracts, or lightning network or these different technological advancements, I think people are coming to realize, those things are very difficult and aren’t coming anytime soon," Smith said.

He pointed out that a lot of people work in one country and send money back to a different country — a situation that is very bitcoin-friendly.

"They use Western Union, traditional banks; It is slow and it is expensive," he said. "And there are people that can stop you from sending that money, whether that's good or bad. With bitcoin, I can send money. It's fast. It's cheap. And frankly, no one can stop me."

Bitcoin was priced around $6,300 Tuesday evening, 5:30 p.m. ET. Bitcoin fell below $6,000 in June — a 60 percent loss for 2018. At its high, in December 2017, it was priced around $19,500.

Author Kellie Ell

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