Monday June 10 2019, Weekly News Digest

United States

Crypto Exchange Bittrex to Block US Users From Trading in 32 Cryptos (Coin Telegraph), Rated: AAA

Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex announced that it will block its United States-based users from trading in 32 cryptocurrencies. The exchange revealed the news in a post on its blog on June 7.

Per the announcement, after June 21, U.S. traders won’t be able to access a slew of coins listed on the exchange, including QTUM and STORJ.

The largest bitcoin exchanges increased attendance to a record (The Cryptocurrency Post), Rated: AAA

A huge number of political factors swayed the economic situation during May. Who would have thought that all of them only positively influenced the cryptocurrency market.

In May alone, Binance was visited by over 42 million users, and Coinbase 35 million.

5 Not-So-Crazy Bitcoin Theories Revealed by Alex ‘Satoshi’ Jones (CCN), Rated: A

1. BITCOIN IS NOTHING BUT A PONZI SCHEME

During a discussion with stockbroker and financial commentator, Peter Schiff, Jones declared Bitcoin to be little more than a Ponzi scheme.

2. LIKES ALTCOINS; NOT A BTC MAXIMALIST: “I WANT 100 BIG CRYPTOCURRENCIES”

3. ROGAN AND DORSEY ARE LEADING A GLOBALIST BITCOIN TAKEOVER

Jack Dorsey found himself in Jones’s crosshairs after the Infowars man was blacklisted from multiple internet-based sites and services, including Twitter. After Dorsey appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast talking up the prospect of a Bitcoin-led internet future, Jones exploded.

4. BITCOIN WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE ALEX JONES DOWN WITH IT

“I could have made in the last six, seven years: $300 million, literally, going with all the Bitcoin people and everything else. I know what people got paid; [They] offered me a million a month – real companies… And I never endorsed it because at the end of the day I thought it was going to be like the tulip bubble.”

5. GEORGE SOROS OFFERED HIM $5 MILLION TO PUMP BITCOIN

Tom Lee: If Bitcoin Hits $ 10K, It’s Going to Make a Run for $ 40K (Altcoin Buzz), Rated: A

Lee stated that once bitcoin regains the $10,000 level, it will be “fast and furious” to $20,000. From there, once FOMO kicks in, historically the price will surge 200% to 400%.

Tom Lee said:

“If bitcoin somehow manages to get to $10,000, it’s very likely going to make a run to $40,000 within five months.”

Crypto Analyst: Bitcoin Will Surge 200-400% If Bulls Break One Key Barrier (The Daily HODL), Rated: AAA

“FOMO really occurs when the price achieves a level that’s only happened 3% of the time. So in past cycles, that level was $8.50 in 2011. Today that number is $10,000 because Bitcoin’s prior to today has only traded above $10,000 for 87 days…

Ethereum, EOS, Tron, Steem

According to DappReview, $11.6 million worth of TRX moved through DApps on the Tron network in the last 24 hours, compared to $10.9 million worth of EOS on its own network. EOS still had a far greater number of users, however, with 109,400 compared to Tron’s 55,300.

Meanwhile, 13,400 users spent $5.1 million worth of ETH on Ethereum-based DApps, while 8,000 users spent $7,000 worth of STEEM on STEEM-based DApps.

Stellar

The crypto exchange Poloniex says it’s distributing hundreds of thousands of Stellar Lumens to customers eligible for Stellar inflation rewards. The exchange says 408,000 have been handed out as of June 5th.

A Bitcoin ‘Millionaire’ Is Planning To ‘Resurrect’ $ 20,000 Per Bitcoin By 2020 (Forbes), Rated: A

Bitcoin was pronounced dead by teen bitcoin and cryptocurrency “millionaire” Erik Finman late last year in the midst of a bitter bitcoin and cryptocurrency bear market that left most major tokens down almost 90% in value and sparked fears the great crypto experiment could come to an abrupt end.

Now, Finman has said a combination of his plans and others he sees happening in the cryptocurrency sector could “resurrect” bitcoin and send the bitcoin price back to its all-time highs of near $20,000 by the end of the year, thanks to crypto adoption from the likes of social media giant Facebook, media and telecoms group AT&T, and U.S. presidential hopefuls talking up bitcoin and crypto.

Bitcoin Bull John McAfee Warns US Government: ‘I Will Bury You’ (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: A

Bitcoin millionaire John McAfee — who’s a fugitive from the law for tax evasion — derisively taunted the U.S. government on Twitter. McAfee warned them to leave him alone or he will “f***ing bury” them.

Bitcoin Price Could Hit $ 25,000 Before 2020, Says Bullish Crypto Analyst (CCN), Rated: AAA

The bitcoin price could break above its all-time high by year-end 2019, according to Oliver Isaacs.

He stated:

“I believe bitcoin has the potential to hit $25,000 by the end of 2019 or early 2020. There are multiple drivers behind the recent resurgence. There are geopolitical, technological, and regulatory drivers. The net effect of the trade war between the U.S. and China has led to a sudden interest in bitcoin as a hedge on investments.”

THE BEARISH TAKE ON BITCOIN

Meanwhile, other notably analysts believe bitcoin is due for a considerable drop. Willy Woo, the founder of Woobull.com, said the cryptocurrency has become overvalued following the latest upside movements.

The Most Insane $ 1 Million and Beyond Bitcoin Price Predictions (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: A

Jesse Lund, Former VP of Blockchain and Digital Currencies for IBM

The former IBM executive is a bitcoin bull after stating during an interview that the price of BTC will eventually tap $1 million. In the interview, Lund says that at $1 million, a Satoshi would equal one U.S. penny. He also noted that liquidity would skyrocket to over $20 trillion if one bitcoin is valued at $1 million. In his view, the $20 trillion liquidity would be a massive game-changer in the global financial services sector.

Wences Casares, Member, PayPal Board of Directors

Casares also hopped on the bitcoin $1 million valuation, but his prediction comes with a somewhat reasonable timeframe. According to the newest addition to PayPal’s board of directors: “One bitcoin may be worth more than $1 million in seven-to-10 years.”

Julian Hosp, Author and Crypto Analyst

Like Casares, Hosp is also a big believer that bitcoin will hit $1 million in the next decade. To make this prediction, he relied on the metric called the stock-to-flow ratio.

Analyst: If Bitcoin (BTC) Breaks Below ,500, a 10% Drop Would Be in Play (NewsBTC), Rated: AAA

After days of inaction, Bitcoin (BTC) bears have finally shown their hand. In the past 24 hours, the leading cryptocurrency has lost around 3%, falling from a multi-day high of around $7,950 to $7,650 as of the time of writing this.

If BTC closes under $7,500, however, Survivalism believes that $6,800 will be in play — just over 10% lower than current prices.

XRP/USD bulls spooked by the collapse below $ 0.40 (FX Street), Rated: AAA

The third largest cryptocurrency with the current market capitalization of $16.4 billion has shed over 5$ of its value in recent 24 hours and over 15% in seven days. The coin touched $0.3700 low on Sunday, though managed to recover towards $0.3878 by the time of writing. The coin has been moving in sync with the market as there have been little developments relevant to XRP’s price movements.

Ripple ( XRP ) price is about to go $ 10 in next 30 days, But How? (Cyclic Mint), Rated: A

Ripple is making some good partnership with some big banks and these banks owned more than 80% of the total money in the world. If they all will start using the XRP for their transaction then the market cap of the XRP will be almost 5/10X.

Litecoin Sets the Market on Fire with a Spectacular Performance (CryptoNewsZ), Rated: A

Litecoin is one of the high performing cryptocurrencies in the market and has shown almost 3.5X growth in the last five months.

There has been tremendous growth in the LTC value in the last five days. The coin jumped from $98.86 to $121.12 and currently trading at $116.57, showing an uptrend of over 17.9%.

$ 100M Cryptocurrency Fund Goes All in on Ethereum for the Next Decade (Be in Crypto), Rated: A

Darma Capital, a new $100M investment firm, is undertaking what might be called a bit gamble on Ethereum (ETH). The fund is betting big that the leading smart-contract platform will go on a 10-year bull run.

Local BCH Venue Opens and Community Goal Nears in the Weekly Update From Bitcoin.com (Bitcoin.com), Rated: A

This week’s show discuses the successful opening of Local.Bitcoin.com, a privacy-focused peer to peer global marketplace for trading bitcoin cash (BCH). Over 11,000 people have signed up to the service and already created more than 3,000 offers since the platform’s official June 4 launch date. The launch couldn’t come at a better time for many cryptocurrency traders who prefer to transact in-person for cash as Localbitcoins just removed that option a few days ago.

Binance’s Trust Wallet App Has Added Support for Ravencoin (RVN) (Altcoin Buzz), Rated: A

Trust Wallet, the official multi-cryptocurrency wallet app by Binance, has announced the support for Ravencoin (RVN). Users can now safely store their beloved Ravencoin using the Trust Wallet.

Why Lobbying Growth Is a Sign That Crypto Is Maturing (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: AAA

Crypto is on the march, and not just in terms of market price. Not only does data indicate that the number of ID-verified users of cryptocurrency doubled over 2018, but there are various other metrics that suggest that adoption is gaining traction. As many as 84% of companies worldwide are involved with blockchain-based technologies in some way, while cryptocurrency ownership is twice as high among young Americans than among the general United States population.

Top 10 lobbyists interested in crypto

Crypto-related lobbying has been consistently expanding ever since 2017, with last year being a particularly strong one. At the end of 2017, there were only 12 entities lobbying on issues related to blockchain technology or crypto, while a year later there were 33. This already represents impressive growth, yet it would seem that the numbers are still rising, since the latest report – from Q1 2019 – shows an increase to 40.

Maker data shows Dai’s growth is reaching new heights (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: A

In May, users set a new high by transferring 1.4 billion Dai.

Ethereum users are utilizing Dai for a variety of purposes, with decentralized exchange leading the pack, accounting for 70% of transfer volume, according to the report. Trades are mainly made on Eth2Dai, but Uniswap and Kyber are growing more popular. Overall, Maker found Dai usage increased by 20% each month since March 2019.

However, decentralized lending is also a growing space for Dai, according to Maker. Lending on platforms like Nuo, Dharma, dYdX and Compound accounted for 13% of Dai activity.

What Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Means: 6 Predictions (Forbes), Rated: AAA

What does Facebook’s new cryptocurrency mean? According to news reports, Facebook will shortly launch Libra, a global cryptocurrency available to users of its suite of platforms (including Messenger and WhatsApp). Presumably any merchant with an account on these platforms could transact in the cryptocurrency with customers who also have accounts—for anything, such as online purchases, and physical-world purchases such as groceries and restaurants. Facebook this week revealed plans to announce details on June 18 and confirmed its cryptocurrency will be a “stablecoin” whose value will be tied to a basket of fiat currencies. Based on Facebook’s statement and several anonymous comments made by people tied to the project in interviews with The Information, here are my six predictions.

MARKET Protocol launches Ethereum based derivatives trading on mainnet (Cryptoninjas), Rated: A

MARKET Protocol, an open source foundation for decentralized trading on the Ethereum blockchain, has now launched its MPX Exchange on mainnet.

Presently, users are able to buy or sell bitcoin (as an ERC-20 token) on the Ethereum blockchain, with  MARKET Protocol’s first product being a BTC/DAI market.

Shorting or going long BTC/DAI using built-in leverage, is as simple as buying any other ERC-20 token. Users can store them where they want. All collateral is held in a smart contract. MARKET Protocol does not control user funds and settlement happens on-chain.

Blockchain In Retail: 2019 Status Check (Forbes), Rated: A

Bitcoin has had its ups and downs – and more downs than ups lately. But blockchain, the technology that makes up the foundation of the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin, has made leaps and strides in its use in business applications.

Big Brewer Invests in Blockchain to Help Small Business (Forkast), Rated: A

Anheuser-Busch InBev announced today it boosted its Series A investment in Minnesota-based BanQu (pronounced Bank-You), a blockchain startup working to help entrepreneurs and small-business owners, most in the Third World. Exact terms of the investment were not released, which was done through ZX Ventures, the global growth and innovation group within ABInBev.

Microsoft And Truffle Sign Blockchain Partnership (Pulse2), Rated: B

Truffle has announced that it has signed a partnership with Microsoft where Truffle will integrate its developer tools into Microsoft Azure. As a result, Truffle will bring a quality developer experience and DevOps to enterprise blockchains.

International

Crypto Market Wrap: Red Monday as Altcoin Selloff Accelerates (NewsBTC), Rated: AAA

Crypto markets are seeing red as we begin another trading week. Most of the majors are in decline following Bitcoin’s failure to hold gains and break $8,000. Total market capitalization has dropped below $250 billion and is poised to fall further as the selloff accelerates.

Bitcoin has dumped 2.5 percent on the day falling from just under $8k down to support at $7,500. BTC recovered a little during early Asian trading but is still down on the day trading at around $7,700.

As expected Ethereum is faring no better with a slide of over 3 percent down to $235.

Top 5 Crypto Performers: ATOM, LTC, BSV, BNB, XRP (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: AAA

Cosmos (ATOM) was the best performer among the top 20 major cryptocurrencies in the past seven days. The platform surged to second position on Github with 4,245 events in the past 30 days, ending June 4, which is a positive sign. What does the chart project?

LTC/USD

Litecoin (LTC) is the second-best performer of the past seven days.

Buyers have been stepping in close to $100 and pushing the price right back up, which is a positive sign.

BSV/USD

This is the third successive week that bitcoin sv (BSV) has been among the top five performers.

The BSV/USD pair has formed an inside week candlestick pattern and is finding support close to a 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the recent rally, while it is facing resistance near the high of $254.

BNB/USD

XRP/USD

The XRP/USD pair has formed a flag following the rise from the lows. A breakout of the flag will point to a resumption of the up move that can carry the price to $0.66413 and above it to $0.76440.

Crypto Prices Sink Lower Finding New Support Levels (Bitcoin.com), Rated: AAA

At the moment, the entire cryptocurrency market is around $243 billion, but global trade volume has dropped from $80 billion on June 5 to $56 billion this weekend.

About six days ago digital currency markets lost between 2-15% throughout June 2 through June 5, but market participants managed to recapture some of those losses throughout last week. Currently, bitcoin core (BTC) spot prices are hovering between $7,625-7,700 per BTC and the market is down 2.2% today. BTC has an overall market capitalization of around $136 billion this Sunday and $16 billion in global trade volume. The second largest market valuation belongs to ethereum (ETH) but ETH has lost 4.6% in the last 24 hours.

New Bitcoin Scams to Look out for (Hackernoon), Rated: A

A scam wave discovered in late May 2019 has been disseminating ransomware and, more recently, an info-stealing infection under the guise of a utility called Bitcoin Collector. The sketchy offer is marketed as a way to earn $15–30 in Bitcoin by simply running the software and with no strings attached. Furthermore, the con artists promise 3 Ethereum (about $735) for 1,000 leads to their site via one’s personal referral link.

Fishy YouTube videos bolstering malware-riddled Bitcoin scam

Those seeking quick and easy cryptocurrency gain are the target audience of another Bitcoin scam making the rounds on YouTube.

The shutdown of major mixer site making crooks’ lives harder

In May 2019, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service seized one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mixing services known as BestMixer.io. This was a well-coordinated operation additionally involving Europol and Luxembourg authorities.

New Binance Poll – Newbies Are (Still) Not Around: The Good And The Bad (CryptoPotato), Rated: A

According to a recent Twitter poll conducted by Binance, 58 percent of those who took part bought their first cryptocurrency during the tumultuous 2017.

It goes without saying that the results deserve attention because almost 39,000 people have taken part so far. 20 percent of them had bought their first crypto in 2016

Observers Mock Fork Called Bitcoin2 That Pumps and Dumps on Two Exchanges (DeyThere), Rated: A

Over the last 48 hours, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been discussing a Bitcoin snapshot fork called Bitcoin2. The little known coin gained over 5,200% since May 28 on only two exchanges and managed to get listed on Coinmarketcap.com as well. Bitcoin2 is believed to be merely a pump and dump scam, much like a great majority of the Bitcoin snapshots airdropped in the past.

The market price aggregation site shows historical price datafor Bitcoin2 started on May 28 at $0.68 per BTC2 but the value spiked over 5,200% to a high of $36.93 on June 6.

Most Notable Bitcoin and Blockchain Asset Trends in the Cryptosphere for 2019 (Bitcoin Exchange Guide), Rated: A

The cryptocurrency market is an emerging, nascent market that changes every single day. This growth of the crypto market into mainstream validation, popularity and adoption means that crypto businesses explore more ways to attract both existing and would-be investors, both small scale individual investors and large scale institutional investors.

Cryptocurrencies can be beneficial to the global economy – G20 (FX Street), Rated: A

• Cryptocurrencies were discussed at G20 meeting and mentioned in the final communique.
• The Finance Ministers do not see immediate risks but prefer to stay vigilante.

Future of Cryptocurrencies in the markets brought up at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (Cryptopolitan), Rated: B

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin discussed the future of cryptocurrency in the oil industry and stated that although the oil industry is aware of the cryptocurrency’s potential, the risks and regulatory issues in the crypto markets are preventing them from venturing into the crypto space.

European Union

Analysts Agree That Ethereum May Soon Visit $ 200 as Selling Pressure Ramps Up (NewsBTC), Rated: AAA

Now, analysts believe that Ethereum’s current selling pressure could continue to perpetuate, which may lead it to extend its losses to as low as $200 in the near future.

When It Comes To Finance Related DApp Development, Ethereum Remains First Choice (CoinTrust), Rated: AAA

As per a report published by Binance Research, a majority of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) application (DApp) is created by Ethereum developers.

Mysterious Token Airdrop Takes up Nearly 60% of Ethereum’s Network (CryptoGlobe), Rated: A

According to Etherscan data, an ERC-20 token called More Gold Coin (MGC) is being airdropped to thousands of Ethereum addresses for no apparent reason.

The airdrop of a mysterious ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network has seemingly been taking up 60% of its transactions and taking up most of its capacity unit, gas, in the last few days. The airdrop appears to be taking place to only draw attention.

Portuguese Football Club SL Benfica Now Accepts Bitcoin & Ethereum in its Online Store (All-Stocks), Rated: B

Portuguese sports club SL Benfica now accepts cryptocurrency for merchandise and tickets. The club’s online store will accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), two of the most famous cryptocurrencies, as announced on the club’s official website.

United Kingdom

Bitcoin can surge to record HIGHS – but still vulnerable to huge COLLAPSE, experts warn (Express), Rated: AAA

BITCOIN could be on the verge of smashing through record high prices of $20,000 this year, but still remains extremely vulnerable to a massive collapse due to its historic instability, cryptocurrency experts have warned.

Wirex Reveals WXT, a new Native Cryptocurrency (PR Newswire), Rated: A

Wirex, a market-leading digital payment platform, today announced the release of the Wirex Token (WXT), their first native cryptocurrency, in an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) on OKEx. The new token is designed to help users access unique rewards, save on fees and own their own share of Wirex.

China

Backlash grows against cashless society (China.org.cn), Rated: AAA

In the United States, the move toward a cashless society has sparked a backlash amid fears that digital payments marginalize the poor, especially the 8.4 million households-6.5 percent of all households in the country-that do not have a bank account or access to a credit card, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Sweden could be completely cashless by 2023, but about 1 million Swedes are not ready for digital payments, according to Christina Tallberg, president of the Swedish National Pensioners’ Organization.

Violators face fines

Arguments against a cashless society include the loss of privacy, as some high-tech companies track every purchase made digitally or by credit cards, and the possibility of computer networks that handle such payments crashing or being hacked.

On March 18, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy followed Philadelphia’s move and banned cashless stores with immediate effect. Violators face a fine of at least $2,500.

According to global media company Forbes, a decade ago, six of every 10 retail transactions in the US were in cash. Now three in 10 are in cash.

Asia

Using Bitcoin Could Lead to 10 Years’ Jail in India: Rumor or Reality? (Bitsonline), Rated: AAA

India’s crypto ecosystem is edgy again as the government’s unfavorable stance on cryptocurrency continues. In a draft bill, the inter-ministerial panel — a committee tasked to draft regulations for the crypto sector — has reportedly proposed a jail term of up to 10 years for anyone having a marginal connection with Bitcoin or its ilk.

Draft bill proposing jail for cryptocurrency trades in India causes stir (livemint), Rated: A

However, according to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed on 4 June 4 by Varun Sethi, a lawyer specializing in blockchain, the Reserve Bank of India says it is not in the know of the proposed ban. RBI, however, has not encouraged the use of bitcoins, and the sale of bitcoins currently is taxed in India. There are an estimated 30 lakh bitcoins in circulation in the country.

Sparrow has launched its revolutionary platform, making trading options simple and secure for everyone (Yahoo! Finance), Rated: A

Sparrow, the Singapore-based options trading platform has launched its revolutionary platform which empowers institutions and individuals to trade options that are settled by smart contract. Sparrow offers a simple and secure way for traders to control risk in the volatile digital asset market and monetize their assets.

Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank has no plans of using Ripple’s XRP token “as of now” (Tokenpost), Rated: A

The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s largest commercial bank, has retracted a statement it made about its plan to start using Ripple’s XRP token.

“Applancer” a marketplace for tech frims launched to help Indian companies (Virtual-Strategy), Rated: B

Applancer.com is a platform that enables individuals to get their projects done with utmost dexterity courtesy of the quality of firms available on the platform. Applancer.com is simply a marketplace for tech firms and individuals to connect with each other. The top quality services available on the platform is a product of curation of top hands and firms in and around the world. This enables firms to get the best for their outputs.

Eurasia

Russian Region Yugra to Launch Blockchain-Enabled Tourism Platform (Coin Telegraph), Rated: AAA

The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra,  a federal subject of Russia, will launch a blockchain-enabled tourism platform, major state-owned media outlet Tass reported on June 7.

Russia considers introducing fines for crypto mining via open blockchain (Financefeeds), Rated: A

Russian lawmakers are considering introducing administrative penalties for those who mine cryptocurrencies via open blockchains, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, told news agency TASS.

MENA

Iranian Cryptocurrency Miners Need to Pay Real Electricity Prices (Financial Tribune), Rated: AAA

Electricity bills for cryptocurrency miners should be calculated in real prices, a deputy energy minister said in Tehran at the weekend.

Homayoun Haeri said crypto miners should pay their power bills as per the same rates considered for electricity export, IRNA reported.

According to media reports, the government annually pays close to $1 billion in subsidies to plug the huge gap in real energy costs and the bills sent to consumers.

Canada

SEC’s allegation against Kik is gross mischaracterization and misleading of the facts, says Ted Livingston (AMB Crypto), Rated: AAA

Recently, Ted Livingston, the CEO of a Canadian-based messaging startup, Kik, spoke about the reason they were being sued by the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission, in an interview for CNBC Crypto Trader. Livingston also spoke about the famous Howey Test and explained why it would not hold in this case.

Caribbean

Chainlink Has Gone Live on Ethereum: What’s Next For the Oracle Platform? (Bitrates), Rated: AAA

Chainlink is one of the most highly-anticipated oracle networks. Now, it has gone live on the Ethereum mainnet—what does it have to offer?

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