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Max Keiser Raises Bitcoin Forecast 4-times the Previous Prediction

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Max Keiser prediction on the BTC price reaching

In 2012, the renowned face of Cryptocurrency, Max Keiser, predicted that the BTC price will reach $1,00,000 when the price was $1. Recently in one of the American TV shows, Infowars, Max Keiser predicted the BTC price to rise to $4,00,000. This comment from him came nearly 8 years after his first prediction

“I am officially raising my prediction from $1,00,000 to $4,00,000. I made my first prediction when the BTC price was just $1. I am increasing my target for the first time since 2012.” said Max Keiser who once tore dollar notes to emphasise the value of Bitcoin.

Keiser has been a known face in the Cryptocurrency industry for a decade now. With his comments, it is very clear that he is still optimistic about the BTC’s potential to show extraordinary gains. In his interview with Alex Jones, Max Keiser referred to the Coronavirus’ impact overshadowing of the Cryptocurrency market as a short term effect.

As per him, the BTC was equally attractive when the price was $100 and is attractive still today when the price has reached $10,000.While predicting, he did not give any particular time frame. Apart from this, he also targeted his haters and invited them to invest in the Cryptocurrency which as per him, can give 40x returns.

BTC Prediction By Experts

  • Tim Draper, the venture capitalist, also forecasted the BTC price reaching $2,50,000 by 2024.

  • John McAfee, the US presidential candidate, who predicted the BTC price reaching $1 million also took away his bet.

  • The CEO of Bitcoin Wallet Ballet, Bobby Lee, Believes that the BTC rate is supposed to reach $5,00,000 by the end of 2028.

  • Tom Lee, the co-founder of Fundstrat believes that BTC price is going through a bad phase and will be improvised by the end of the year.

  • Looking at all this forecasting done by big names, we just memorize one great saying,

“Predictions are assumptions based on analytics. It’s the time that shows a proper demonstration.”

Ripple Partner MoneyGram Joins Forces With Visa for FastSend launch

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Cross border transactions have become the norm with several mainstream companies taking the route. Ripple has been one of the several companies taking an initiative from the cryptocurrency sphere and that has shown with the partnerships.

Just recently, one of Ripple’s major partners, MoneyGram, announced a new service that is not using Ripple’s technology, but rather that of its rival, Visa

MoneyGram claimed that FastSend was developed keeping in mind the quick and easy access that people need to money. The service will enable users to send money to a phone number in real time using their particular website or mobile app. Since investing $50 million in the remittance company, Ripple owns 10 percent of MoneyGram.

During the launch, Kamila Chytil, the Chief Operating Officer [COO] of MoneyGram stated:

“Today, MoneyGram is utilizing Ripple’s On Demand Liquidity product which allows MoneyGram to trade FX at a corporate level using XRP. It’s a back-end treasury function that’s not consumer facing. The technology is helping to solve the most expensive and time consuming aspect of the current process by reducing the amount of money the company needs to park around the world, which will eventually reduce working capital needs.”

The service is intended to be cheap to ensure everyone uses it. The cost of individual transactions will be $1.99 with the cap limit set at $10,000. FastSend will be supported by Visa Direct rails with the market expecting that it will draw customers into the market. This can probably result in more people learning about Ripple and the cryptocurrency cross border transaction department.

Alex Holmes, the CEO of MoneyGram stated that users will be able to send money as easily as sending a text. Chytil added that the company will use direct original credit transaction to send funds. This mode of transfer will not use Distributed Ledger Technology [DLT] but will instead use open-source cloud services.

At the same time, Ripple uses blockchain-based products extensively to service other products as well. Officials close to the company stated that FastSend functions as a back end treasury function that is not consumer-facing. This also reduces the amount of capital that the bank needs to park around the world. Ripple saw this as the major factor in controlling the amount of liquidity in the market.

Liquidity is seen as the main problem that a lot of banks seems to face With XRP and the company’s proprietary technology, Ripple plans to rid the issue of circulating currency. Once the liquidity for trading increases, the remaining capital can be used for other purposes such as margin trading. According to MoneyGram, the latest feature will utilize the blockchain to change the financial world.

Alex Holmes led the company aims to increase blockchain adoption among financial institutions and believes that it will come to fruition soon. Ripple’s influence had also penetrated into the Asian market recently. The popular Bangladeshi organization Bank of Asia had just announced that they had joined the RippleNet.

The news about Bank of Asia was first discovered by a Twitter user who had noticed the bank’s logo on a Ripple document. The bank now joins the likes of Santander, American Express, Send Friend and Standard Chartered.

Russia’s Central Bank Successfully Completes Pilot of Blockchain Platform To Issue Tokenized Assets

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Concerning the latest reports, the Central Bank of Russia has finally completed the pilot test of its blockchain platform. Looks like the country has moved ahead than China which has doubled down its views on the future of blockchain technology.

Russia Makes a New Move

Noticeably, the Central Bank of Russia in late December 2019 proposed that the project will be a part of the regulatory sandbox. However, the latest local report notes the “successful completion” of a pilot of a blockchain platform. More so, the platform will be used to issue and move the “digital rights”. By doing so, the country will be able to digitize securities, goods, services and other assets as well.

Interestingly, this move is perceived as the potential opportunity to attract new capital as well as to create a new avenue for consumers to invest in. However, the platform will also enable companies and entities to issue their digital tokens. More so, the new project is said to be “one of the largest sandbox projects”. Concerning the matter, Director of Financial Technologies, Ivan Ban elaborated the platform also entertains hybrid tokens. He went on to say that;

An important detail of the service is the use of hybrid tokens, which make it easy to adapt to the needs of business and consumers and provide flexible solutions to attract investment. Based on the results of the piloting, the Bank of Russia proposed to include in the draft federal law “On Digital Financial Assets” the provisions necessary for the introduction and development of such decisions in the emerging digital assets market, which were supported by government agencies and businesses.

Also, the country is almost ready with the draft bill “On Digital Financial Assets”, the approval of which will pave the way for this platform to perform its activities. However, as per the other news outlet, RBC, the Central Bank of Russia is requesting banks to flag accounts as “suspicious” that are associated with crypto assets. Accordingly, the bank is to modify key “375-P protocol” that reportedly instruct banks how should they deal with money laundering cases.

While the proposal to amend protocol has to be approved by the Govt, it creates a sense of fear among the hundreds of thousands of the crypto enthusiasts in Russia.

Looking at the scenario, the bank’s focus could be to estimate the number of citizens involved in crypto activities in-country and by amending the protocol which has not been amended since 2012, the bank could bring crypto in money laundering case.

US Treasury to Introduce New Cryptocurrency Regulations

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The US Treasury plans to introduce new rules and regulations  on Digital currencies intended to crack down on its use to facilitate money laundering and other illicit activities

Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary told a Senate Finance Committee that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will soon announce new rules on digital payment and cryptocurrency. The primary concern with digital currency adoption is the issue of scams, opacity and ambiguous trade-offs that seem unconventional to traditional finance. Mnuchin hopes the new rules to improve transparency in order to stop money laundering and will prevent the use of cryptocurrencies as a “secret bank accounts”.

The US administration has expressed concern about the increased use of crypto in the execution of anonymous and illegal transactions. Additionally, the lurking potential of evading American Sanctions by nations like North Korea and Iran remains a huge threat to the blockchain. 

He did not hesitate to suggest that the framework was a representation of the government’s support for the new technology; as well as caution of avoiding digital currencies becoming the equivalent of the ancient Swiss Secret number banking. Nonetheless, the charing did not provide further details entailing the new regulations. However, the Treasure Secretary highlighted they would offer improved transparency for law enforcement; and a guide for the enforcement to track where money was going and prevent laundering. 

President Trump was not hesitant to express skepticism about digital currencies. Last year, the president told Twitter followers that he is “not a fan” of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Adding to the note, he described cryptocurrencies as volatile and based on thin air. Furthermore, he would warn Facebook that they should seek a banking charter and adhere to banking regulations; if they were to issue a digital currency. 

Mr. Mnuchin’s efforts to closely monitor cryptocurrency saw the relocation of the Secret Service towards the treasure Department, rather than Homeland Security. In the White House Budget proposal released this week, the administration cited the efficiency of policing cryptocurrencies through the treasury department and the secret service. White House has identified how cryptocurrencies are used as an emerging threat.

Nevertheless, the United States Federal Reserve stated in a separate hearing; that it was exploring how a US digital currency would look like. The Federal Reserve said it had studied the costs and benefits of implementing the digital currency. As well as the implications of the same in the global economy. However, Mr. Mnuchin had stated on Wednesday that he didn’t believe a digital dollar was even necessary. 

But the Secretary said it was also a project to consider somewhere down the road. For instance, Jerome Powell noted that a Federal Reserve digital currency also posed the threat of low privacy and high fraud. The Chair of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Powell stated: 

“There’s a lot to weigh and a lot to work on there. Every major central bank in the world right now is doing a deep dive on digital currencies, and we think it is our responsibility to be at the very forefront of knowledge and thinking about a central bank digital currency.”

The creation and deployment of one such government-issued digital currency would need approval from congress. 

Blockchain For The Masses as Figure Launches New Advertisement

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The cryptocurrency market has seen a resurgence in interest among the masses as more and more people have decided to enter the field. This phenomenon has also caused digital asset organizations to splurge on advertisements and routine publicity.

Figure, the blockchain-based startup headed by Mike Cagney recently released a new advert that featured a mascot that informed people of the advantages of blockchain and the digital asset industry.

The ad was targetted to educate customers on blockchain technology as well as the new emerging tech in the financial ecosystem. The figure has claimed that a simple as easy explanation for the complicated technology was the way to inform the larger sects of society.

Initiatives taken by companies such as Figure go a long way in assuring newcomers that space is not so scary as vile as previously imagined. This was not the first time that a company had to take such steps as it follows in the footsteps of Grayscale Investments. According to the advertisement jingle:

“I’m not bitcoin, cryptocurrency, or anything scary.
In fact I make things less scary. I improve financial transactions like loans, behind the scenes, to make them more efficient, secure, and less costly. Which, if I work my magic right, can save you money. Before me, this was all done manually — aka by people. And people can make mistakes. And then other people have to find those mistakes and correct them, which all takes time and money. “

The jingle context was set to convey the fact that the blockchain wasn’t resistant to mistakes but rather immutable. It means that errors on the blockchain could be made but these would not be subject to any kind of editing program.

The figurine, referred to as Mr. Blockhead by some also spoke about the trustless nature of the blockchain. According to the advertisements the blockchain was so secure that to pass on the information it has to create something called the nodes. Nodes basically act as points which consist of unbiased computers. These computers then verify the data fed into them and then check if the transaction is valid or not.

The explanations given in the video were crude compared to the knowledge possessed by experts in the field. ‘Mr. Blockhead’ and Figure’s efforts have been lauded by the pubic because of the company’s sheer determination to educate the public. The advertisement also worked as a deterrent to banks and other financial institutions that were not on the blockchain.

Figure has clearly stated that the release was not intended to create controversy or ruffle any feathers. It was supposed to act as an educational tool so that both the blockchain industry as well as the mainstream finance world could co-exist on a level playing field.

 

Source:Reuters

Circle Doubles Down on Stablecoin, Looking to Sell its Crowdfunding Unit

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The Boston-based crypto company, Circle is reportedly looking to sell its crowdfunding unit. The move is a direct result of the company’s focus on the Stablecoin business.

The Circle has made yet another headline. Previously, the firm appeared on top bulletins after spinning out of the Poloniex crypto trading platform which Circle had acquired in the year 2018 for $400 million. Moreover, it has successfully signed the sale agreement of its  “over-the-counter trading desk” with Kraken exchange for approximately $1 million. However, the business saga of Circle didn’t end here. The platform is now looking out for an investor who can buy SeedInvest, Circle’s crowdfunding unit.

Circle acquired SeedInvest last year in March 2019. SeedInvest was meant to help organizations build funding power using their financial assets. 

One of the internal sources of Circle commented that the crypto company is going through a tough time solving the lingering issues based on how the SeedInvest’s acquisition was made in March 2019. As a result, they are facing trouble finding a considerable investor who can purchase its crowdfunding unit.

Additionally, the source commented on Circle’s ruling out of the trading unit as the biggest blow for the crypto company. In 2018, the trading unit helped them build a total sum of $ 24 billion in the form of cryptocurrency.

Crypto Company’s Next Center – Stablecoins

You might think of what’s next for Circle when they have already eliminated its 3 working platforms! To answer your question, the crypto organization has already confirmed its upcoming plans on their website. They are now aiming for USDC – the Stablecoins.

The Stablecoin has already seen its high when its supply was doubled in 2019. The supply went on to reach $441 million. 

Circle’s spokesperson Josh Hawkings mentioned that the organization is now aiming to build its availability of businesses with its commercial accounts. These accounts will provide a proper online environment for the local as well as international businesses to convert their investment in USDC into a convertible asset that can be used for payment purposes.

Adding to it, it was also mentioned by the spokesperson that the Stablecoins are still pretty new in the market. It will acquire good stability going forward and will soon be adopted by everyone.

Contradicting the comments submitted by the spokesperson of Circle, other sources believe that the USDC’s model of working will create a tough time for the organization. The hard game of launching USDC on the platform will guide a way for others in the same field to follow their steps to launch the Stablecoins on their respective platforms.

Looking at all the comments and reactions, it is clearly a longer and tougher task for Circle to unwind the existing ones and strategize for the new baby entering the business to get the same support from the followers.

Binance Leverages Tezos Price Hike; Introduces 50% Rebate on Trading Fees

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On 14th February Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange announced a 50% rebate on the trading of Tezos [XTZ/USDT trading pair] on Binance Futures from 2020/02/14 12:00 PM [UTC] to 2020/02/21 12:00 PM [UTC]. 

Talk about good timing, the rebate was announced in line with the on-going price surge of XTZ tokens. In the past month, XTZ has pushed itself from the top 50 to the top 10 cryptocurrencies on CMC. As observed at the time of writing, XTZ has a 52% surge in its 7-day chart and is up by 7% in 24 hours. 

An overview of Tezos

Back in 2018 when Tezos [XTZ] launched in the crypto-market, the token gained popularity like none. It rose up to the top 20 but the controversy around the project soon flipped its image. Nevertheless, the project in the recent past has proved that it has not passed its prime.  

To give a quick background, Tezos has a self-amending technology that can instantiate any blockchain-based ledger. It supports meta updates for protocols that implement its changes and upgrades by evolving into its latest form without a coding initiated by a third party.

Some notable difference between Tezos and other cryptocurrencies are as follows:

  1. The Tezos blockchain runs on Proof-of-Stake which is more energy-efficient than Proof-of-Work the current consensus mechanism Bitcoin, Ethereum, BCH and more is built on.
  2. XTZ holders receive a 5% dividend. For instance, Binance runs a Tezos delegation program wherein users stake their XTZ tokens to form a pool, the rewards received are later divided accordingly.
  3. Being a community-driven and self-governing blockchain, decisions for the project are implemented by XTZ holders votes using smart contracts.

Details on the Tezos Trading fee Rebate

Binance leveraging Tezos holders with a 50% rebate in trading fees indicates that traders on Binance Futures will be refunded with half of their trading fees. This opens doors for a greater number of trades with lesser charges. As observed, futures trading in cryptocurrencies has increased liquidity, improved the investor base, and has developed better portfolio management. 

In the financial world, a futures contract is described as a technique to hedge positions in order to reduce risks of the underlying unknown trends. Additionally, it is also utilized to exploit arbitrage opportunities. With Tezos, the futures are mostly associated with bakers. Binance perpetual contracts on XTZ are traded with the intention of providing higher returns with the additional advantage of leverage options. It is important to note that perpetual contracts do not have an expiry date, unlike traditional futures contracts.

As per the specifications provided by Binance, rebate amounts will be based on the trading fees charged, the rebates will be distributed within 5 working days and it will be paid back in the token used for paying the fee. 

For more details on the same, visit the official blog by Binance. 

Disclaimers note: Futures trading holds the potential for high profits and losses.  Investors could lose more than they initially invested. This article is for information purposes and is not a piece of financial advice.

 

China’s Effort into Launching Digital Currency Takes The Ramp With New Patents

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China has made no efforts to hide the fact that it was diving headfirst into blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Banking officials in the Red Dragon have also commented multiple times on the future of a central bank digital currency.

New reports have shown that China is ramping up developments in the Fintech sector with its central bank filing 84 CBDC-related patents

The Financial Times first reported that the central bank of China was given the go-ahead by the government to outperform existing CBDCs. China had first come into the fintech picture when the head of the central bank, as well as Xi Jinping, admitted that utilizing blockchain technology was the way to go.

Information on the number of patents first surfaced after an investigation initiated by the United States Chamber of Digital Commerce. The last time the CDC was in the news was when it made its stance in the Telegram vs SEC case. This time around the CDC discovered that the Chinese patents focus on designing protocols that will control the issuance and supply of digital renminbi.

Perianne Boring, the President of the Chamber of Commerce added that China has made massive investments into the fintech industry. He also claimed that China was taking a very drastic approach from the United States about the blockchain industry. Some of the patents were related to the creation of a middle-layer entity to help customers deposit fiat and withdraw renminbi.

Some of the patents were in connection with the ‘tokenomics’ concept. The DCEP working group has also revealed that there were planning towards programmed inflation control mechanisms. Although no dates have been announced for the launch, many are expecting the digital renminbi to change the phase of the financial sphere.

Other countries have also taken steps to improve the digital assets sector. A think tank of central bankers from Canada, Sweden, Japan and Switzerland along with the European Central Bank has been set up to give clear definitions to the crypto industry. The group is set to have its first meeting in April.

Bad News for Bitcoin, DoJ Busts an Enormous Money Laundry Operation

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The growth and adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have long been subdued by the notion that they are tied to the dark web and the criminal world. This perception is basically because the crypto technology started as a payment method on darknet marketplaces.

Over the years, this narrative has been gradually disappearing. However, traces of it still exist among the state administration and retail investors. This has played a huge part in the technology’s slow adoption worldwide.

Well, this is symbolized by the United States’ latest 2021 fiscal budget proposal. Cryptocurrency crimes seem to be an area of concern. Trump’s latest budget proposal seeks to crack down digital currency-related crimes in the near future.

Moreover, the recent reports of a massive $300 million money laundry scheme further strengthen the tale. The plot which was just recently busted by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) may be the poster child of the government’s strengthening account against Bitcoin.

DoJ  Indicts Ohio Man for Laundering $300M in Bitcoin on the Dark Web

The DoJ charged Larry Harmon earlier this week for allegedly conspiring to launder $300 million using Bitcoin. Harmon ran the Helix money laundry scheme which had advanced operations that helped clean money used for transactions. As per the DoJ, Helix laundered the money through a dark market place called AlphaBay.

“Helix functioned as a bitcoin ‘mixer’ or ‘tumbler,’ allowing customers, for a fee, to send bitcoin to designated recipients in a manner that was designed to conceal the source or owner of the bitcoin.” 

In addition, Harmon lured users by acclaiming to conceal cash transfers from law enforcement. On top of Helix, Harmon also ran a Dark Web search tool dubbed Grams. The Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Brian Benczkowski commented on the matter through the press release saying:

“Helix allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit narcotics proceeds and other criminal profits for Darknet users around the globe…This indictment underscores that seeking to obscure virtual currency transactions in this way is a crime, and that the Department can and will ensure that such crime doesn’t pay.”

Furthermore, Harmon’s accusations include that Helix outfit transferred more than 350,000 Bitcoin; valued at over $300 million at the time.In addition, the illegal business also powered money laundry schemes of other users on AlphaBay. According to the DoJ, AlphaBay is a heavily trafficked Dark Web Vendor.

Government’s Case Against Crypto Strengthens

Moving forward, Donald Trump’s recently proposed budget mentions the term cryptocurrency twice. On both occasions, the term is directly associated to funding terrorism and other criminal activities.

The budget also highlights that the Secret Service to be returned back to their original duty in the Treasury. Initially, the Secret Service was formed to investigate financial crimes and protect presidents. This move is particularly to provide more oversight to the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry.

In conclusion, it is still not clear whether involving the Secret Service in the digital currency industry will reap more advantages or disadvantages. However, it is crystal clear that the recent Bitcoin money laundry indictment by the DoJ; will drive the government into increasing its involvement and oversight in the market.

 

Stellar Lumens Ups Its Game With German Bank Partnership

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Countries in Europe have been open about using blockchain technology in improving their financial spheres. Out of this, Germany has been one of the stalwart examples of a region that has adopted blockchain as well as the concept of cryptocurrencies.

New reports now state that Bank von der Heydt had partnered with Bitbond to release their own euro stablecoin. This is aimed to facilitate financial placements in tokenized securities. 

Sources have revealed that the partnership between the bank and the startup will result in a plethora of developments of updates. The tie-up will utilize the Stellar blockchain which will then be used by institutions as well as private companies. The bank’s official statement read:

“The advantages of digital securities lie above all in virtualization, i.e. the elimination of the previously required documented securitization. As a result, securities can be traded directly without an intermediary, making financing much cheaper and easier to implement. Instead of a share, you get a token that, like Stellar, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co., is based on the blockchain system.”

The bank added that as of the start of the New Year, the crypto custody business was incorporated into the German Banking Act [KWG] as a separate financial service. Customers now need to gain permission from BaFin to offer custody of crypto values within the German market.

With the latest proposal, investors within the bank will be able to purchase the euro stablecoin that will be issued by von der Heydt. Users integrated into the system will be able to convert their holding euros into stablecoins. The founder and CEO of Bitbond, Radoslav Albrecht stated that digital payment will happen much faster than how it was occurring now.

The main advantages of the tie-up were that the transfers will occur in real-time. At the same time, on-chain delivery versus payment of securities is set to occur in an instantaneous fashion. The banks using the technology does not need to involve a third party paying agent but can provide everything independently.