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Bitcoin Indicates Signs of Safe-Haven Asset Against Global Risks

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The latest conflict between the United States and Iran has provided Bitcoin with a platform to showcase how it has evolved as a safe haven asset during times of global turmoil.

The relationship between the United States and the Islamic State of Iran reached a critical point when the U.S. carried out an airstrike at an Iraqi airport in Baghdad on January 2. The airstrike targeted the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis; the deputy commander of Iran’s Popular Mobilization Forces Qassem Soleimani.

In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hit 52 heritage sites ‘very hard’ if the Islamic nation dared to retaliate. Nevertheless, Iran ignored his threats and attacked two Iraqi bases housing American troops through a series of missile attacks on January 8.

As the series of events unfolded, on-chain analyst Willy Woo claimed that Bitcoin showcased its ability as a “wartime safe haven” as it rose over 20 percent.

 

“I think Bitcoin just got its first successful beta test of being a wartime safe haven, this is a pretty big test for Bitcoin,” said Woo.

On the same token, Messari published an infographic image showing how demand for Bitcoin had rose following the assassination of the Iran general. The surge in interest saw Bitcoin rise up from $6,960 on January 2; to a high of $8,440 on January 8. However, as the United States vowed to resolve the differences and renew the diplomatic relationship between the two countries; investors sold their holdings and the price of the flagship cryptocurrency went down as a result.

U.S. China Trade Wars

Moving forward, this is not the first time that Bitcoin has presented itself as a hedge asset at times of conflict. A similar circumstance unraveled back in May 2019 when the trade wars between the United States and China escalated. The trade wars instilled fears of an economic recession and investors started viewing cryptocurrencies on a new light.

Specifically, investors have preferred Bitcoin as it is not directly exposed to political forces. In addition, it is not dictated by a particular government since it is decentralized;  it’s not vulnerable to the ideas of a central bank or political leaders.

As the trade wars inspired a vicious global equity sell-off, its Bitcoin’s insulated nature helped it reach a new multi-highs during the time. Simply put, investors sought refuge from the cryptocurrency as they had no idea where else to hide their wealth.

Bitcoin Not Subject to Similar Forces as other Currencies

People who feel little trust towards the government see Bitcoin as an alternative to fiat currencies. However, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. During an interview last year, Evan Kuo, CEO of Ampleforth, a digital asset protocol said:

 

“It’s helpful that it’s volatile in a way that’s not connected to other assets. There’s been almost 10 years of data to suggest that the coin has almost no risk exposure to precious metals; commodities, equities, currencies, and so on.”

In countries experiencing currency issues, the Bitcoin trade has been booming on the local exchanges. For example, Venezuela and Argentina where political tensions have heightened inflation levels and poor economic conditions; Bitcoin trade has picked up. In the case of Venezuela, the government went on to develop its own digital currency. Obviously, that won’t work since they still control the levels of supply.

Conclusion

Bitcoin offers an escape like foreign currency does in moments of inflation and turmoil. When economic turmoil arises, investors can start purchasing Bitcoin to store their savings and protect their wealth. It becomes a borderless currency that they can count on during times of crisis.

 

Litecoin [LTC/USD] Price Analysis: LTC dips in short term but price looks to stay steady for more time

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The cryptocurrency market has been going through some fluctuating times, with the prices swinging between bullish and bearish rapidly. This phenomenon has led to altcoins climbing well above expected rates.

Litecoin, Charlie Lee founded cryptocurrency had taken a backseat when it came to developments but its price had always kept the market interested. The cryptocurrency had gone through the same bearish trudge like its compatriots and had recently rallied on the price charts.

At press time, Litecoin’s price was $45.56 with a total market cap of $2.907 billion. Over the previous 24-hours, the value of the sixth-largest cryptocurrency had tanked by 4.81 percent causing the daily market volume to fall to $3.505 billion.

1 hour:

 

Litecoin [LTC/USD] Price Analysis: LTC
1 Hour Chart

The trend line indicated a recent drop in LTC price but that had not threatened earlier supports. The immediate support on the hourly chart was $43.98 while the asset was trading for $45.35. The sideways movement seems to replicate earlier patterns.

The Awesome Oscillator was beaming red and green after a mixed market runs for Litecoin. The fluctuation in the LTC market has caused market pressure to stay high.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator had fallen below the zero line on the hourly charts. This was an indication of the capital leaving the market overtaking the amount of money coming into the market.

The Relative Strength Index was nearer to the oversold zone than it was ever before in 2020. The sudden fall on the graph can be attributed to Bitcoin’s price fall, causing a lot of people to sell their stocks rather than buy more.

1 day:

 

Litecoin [LTC/USD] Price Analysis:
1 Day Chart

The daily chart showed a healthy recovery for Litecoin’s price point. Since November 2019, the cryptocurrency had taken a massive hit in price and January was the first time that it saw sustained recovery. The immediate support in the long term was $36.69 with the trend line indicating upward movements.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator was above the zero line for the first time in two months and that meant investors were beginning to come back into the Litecoin ecosystem. The higher capital inflow was also appreciated by many of the members in the community.

The Relative Strength Index was near the overbought zone after there was a massive increase in buying pressure over selling pressure. As more and more people accumulate Litecoin, the buying pressure will only increase.

The Awesome Oscillator had tapered towards January as the holiday season took some steam off the cryptocurrency market. Litecoin in the long term was treading through positive market pressure, albeit in small amounts.

Litecoin’s price can be expected to stagnate a bit more with hints of bullish essence. As long as the price of Bitcoin does not swing upwards significantly, Litecoin holders need not expect another price hike either.

 

Bitcoin Based Organizations are Now Pumping SEA Economies, Claims Deloitte Report

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Bitcoin and its use cases have now created such a movement that it has started contributing to Southeast Asian economies. 

According to the Deloitte Innovation report, the Internet economy in the Southeast Asian economies market has been developing appreciably in size.

The Indonesian market is anticipated to grow to $100 billion within the subsequent 5 years which changed into at just $27 billion two years back. Malaysia changed into next on the list projected to grow to $21 billion through 2020.

The Philippines came in third beating out burgeoning SEA economies consisting of Thailand and Vietnam. The Philippines has been a growing economy in the Fintech sector and companies that are involved in cryptocurrencies contribute a massive part to it.

The Philippines has been one of the foremost Southeast Asian economies dabbling with cryptocurrencies and corporations which includes Grab is a high example of that influx.

If fund-raising for SEA unicorns are taken into consideration then Grab was the primary decacorn for the vicinity beating out unicorns consisting of Lazada, Gojek and Takopedia.

One business enterprise within the Philippines that carried the torch for the cryptocurrency enterprise became Coin.Ph. The enterprise provides mobile wallets and financial services such as remittance, mobile air time top-ups, bill payments and more.

Fintech corporations make up almost 15 percent of Manila’s startup, providing an interesting area of interest to explore. This become completed by energetic participation from the country’s government, which passed several acts to strengthen the enterprise.

This blanketed the creation of the Philippine Startup Development Program, Startup EZones and “startup visas” for owners, employees, investors.

 

 

SEC Includes “Digital Assets” in its 2020 Examination Priorities – What to Look For?

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SEC Includes “Digital Assets” in its 2020 Examination Priorities: It’s been over 10 years for the existence of cryptocurrency and regulators from around the world are still discovering the best possible means to regulate it.

However, the most recent report published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), detailing the priorities for 2020 includes ‘their decision regarding digital assets’.

This report was detailed by ‘the US SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE)’ which specifically mentioned;

“The digital assets market has grown rapidly and presents various risks, including for retail investors who may not adequately understand the differences between these assets and more traditional products,”

The agency will continue to research several aspects surrounding cryptocurrency such as the risks involved in it for retail investors and what makes digital assets differ from the traditional ones. The report further reads that;

“Due to these risks, OCIE will continue to identify and examine SEC-registered market participants engaged in this space. Examinations will assess the following: (1) investment suitability, (2) portfolio management and trading practices, (3) safety of client funds and assets, (4) pricing and valuation, (5) effectiveness of compliance programs and controls, and (6) supervision of employee outside business activities,”.

This isn’t the first time though, in the year 2018 as well, SEC reportedly included cryptocurrency as to how market players assure its assets the safety of their funds and whether or not they are educating customers about the risk associated with their digital asset-related products.

More so, OCIE went on to assure that they will oversee transfer agents which will certainly act as intermediaries in securities transactions or entities that are ‘developing blockchain technology’ or offering services to digital asset issuers. Interestingly, the document also highlights that they would supervise the staff, funds and outside business activities of crypto exchange.

You can read more about OCIE report here – https://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/national-examination-program-priorities-2020.pdf

Bitcoin [BTC/USD] Price Analysis: Price booms as 2020 continues to shower its fortunes

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Bitcoin [BTC/USD] Price Analysis: Price booms as 2020 continues to shower its fortunes

 

Bitcoin [BTC/USD] Price Analysis: Bitcoin‘s performance in 2020 has been the talk of the cryptocurrency town and many naysayers have now begun to backtrack on their comments about the digital asset’s fall.

The second week of 2020 has been quite fruitful for Bitcoin as its price hit its highest point since November of 2019. This event has been quite clamorous for the space as multiple proponents came forward to praise the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

At press time, Bitcoin’s price was $8293.33 with a total market cap of $150.51 billion. The market cap too has risen to one of its biggest markers since last October, another win for the currency. It is easy to say that the price rise has been random but a technical analysis will give us a deeper look.

1 hour:

Bitcoin [BTC/USD] Price Analysis:
1-hour Chart
The hourly chart for Bitcoin’s price showed multiple green candles shooting for the sky. The immediate price support for Bitcoin was lifted to $7762 after a continuous price hike for 6 days.

The Parabolic SAR was strongly below the price candles. This indicated that Bitcoin’s price would continue to stay in the bullish territory.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator was another friend to Bitcoin’s price. The CMF was way above the zero line which meant that the capital coming into the Bitcoin market was much more than the capital leaving the market.

The Awesome Oscillator was showing burgeoning green signal after the recent bullish run. The bump in the AO meant that the Bitcoin market pressure was at a long term high.

The short term indicators all showed bullish signs, which may indicate a strong bull run for the next couple of days including a mix of price flatlines.

1 day:

Bitcoin Price Analysis:
1 Day Chart

 

Bitcoin’s daily price chart had begun to reflect the currency’s performance in the short term. The green candles had begun to take over with the last 6 markers staying green throughout. The immediate support on the daily chart was at $6626.3.

The CMF had spiked to the upper strata strongly for the first time since the middle of October 2019. The climb meant that investors were regaining their faith in Bitcoin.

The Awesome Oscillator signalled green for the first time in 2020. Together with the CMF, we can speculate that institutional investors were increasing their ramp up towards the Bitcoin industry,

The Parabolic SAR for Bitcoin’s long term price also remained bullish, a positive sign for traders. The markers remained below the price candles and assured holders that the atmosphere was bullish.

Bitcoin’s price prediction has always been tricky with analysis, with multiple factors affecting its movement. The above-mentioned Bitcoin price charts and indicators have all in tandem stated that Bitcoin’s strong start to the year will bring its dividends soon.

 

XRP in 2019: Developments galore continue as price stumbles

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XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency had a difficult 2019 with the price closing below what was expected. Despite this fall, the cryptocurrency managed to maintain a decent market volume that enabled enterprises to use it in their services. 

In a recent report compiled by XRPArcade, it was noticed that XRP witnessed multiple fluctuations over the past 12 months. XRP’s price dropped by more than 50 percent in 2019 in terms of dollars while the dip fell to 75 percent in terms of BTC value.

The analysis pointed out that the value of Bitcoin changed rapidly throughout the past year, either “upwards or downwards”s. The analysis stated the fact that since XRP has been subject to the same bear market as other tokens, does not help in appeasing its investors. XRP holders would be happy to know that in spite of XRP’s price drop, it still had one of its most stable years. The highest intraday volatility over the past year occurred on May 14th, clocking in at 28.75 percent.

The last year was also the time period when XRP was listed on several exchanges, 82 to be exact. The list included Coinzeus, Coinmetro, Huobi and Binance US. By looking at the adjusted volume, Biki came at the top with $1.33 billion after being launched in June 2018. LBank came second with $1.324 billion in terms of adjusted volume, although it was launched back in October 2016. Out of the newly listed exchanges in 2019, Folgory was the highest at 14th. The exchange had an adjusted volume of $1.031 billion after launching in January 2019.

According to the report, there are 1130 markets listed on XRParcade. XRP is listed on 388 exchanges and is also paired with 47 fiat currencies with a total of 349 fiat markets. The United States Dollar was the most popular paired currency with EU coming in second. Twenty nineteen was the year when multiple companies started accepting or support XRP. These included multiple payment gateway services, global entertainment platforms and digital wallets.

The total number of nodes on the XRP Ledger remained stable throughout 2019 and was at number 993 at press time. It is still too early to predict XRP’s movement in 2020, but the year has definitely started off well for Ripple’s native cryptocurrency.

Ethereum [ETH] Gearing for a Strong Uptrend , XRP Denies Manipulation Claims

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Ethereum posted strong gains this week above the $135 resistance against the United States Dollar. On the other hand, both Ripple and Bitcoin began an upward surge in the past few sessions; and rallied beyond the $7,800 and $0.2150 respectively.

Meanwhile, Ethereum remained in positive territory only to gain pace beyond the $138 resistance area. Moreover, the coin saw a successful break above $140 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

In addition to a 2020 High near the $145 price level. Currently, the price is consolidating gains with initial support around $143 and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent upward correction from $139 low to $145 high.

Ethereum could be preparing an upside break past the $145 resistance. In case the bulls gain momentum above $145 and thereby push the price point towards the next key resistance of $150.

Meanwhile, the next key resistance beyond the major resistance of $150 is near the $158 level. A clear break took shape above the $158 price hurdle and this could set the tone for a higher push towards $167.

Last Week’s Performance

Ethereum’s price surpassed the 50% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $138 high to $125 low. It opened the doors for more gains above $130 and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

More importantly, there was a break above a key declining channel or bullish flag with resistance near $130 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD. The pair is now trading nicely above the $132 and $135 resistance levels.

However, there could be a downside correction below the $143 price zone in the short term. In such a case, $142 could provide a sufficient support area for the correction.

Besides, will a major bullish trend form its support around $138 on the hourly ETH/USD trade pair chart, a dip towards the $140 trend line is likely to protect further losses.

Ethereum price is also facing a gradual rise and the recent upward movement seems to be gaining pace past the $145 resistance levels.  The next key bullish targets could be $150 and $157. Which could possibly strike a close below the $138 zone and therefore post substantial price corrections.

Ripple Denies Allegations of  Whale Market Manipulation

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Denied claims of manipulating XRP prices. During an interview with CNN on the fifth of January, Garlinghouse added new contention to the controversial dumping of XRP; with the executive officer stating their stand and relationship with XRP.

Meanwhile, the third leading coin by market capitalization hit a 10 percent gain within the past 24 hours.

Brad: Ripple Can’t Control the Price of XRP 

Brad Garlinghouse
Brad Garlinghouse

Ripple owns the highest amount of XRP in the community. Garlinghouse further observed his company was the most interested party in the welfare of XRP. He added that:

“Yes, Ripple owns a lot of XRP, was very interested in the success of XRP but the accusations of us dumping, that’s not in our best interests to do that. We would never do that in fact, we’ve taken steps to lock up most of the XRP we own in escrows so we can’t touch it.”

His comments seemed to reveal the company’s position according to market patterns. Especially regarding the dumping of XRP coins in bulk. Such as last year market dump recording the highest number in the history of Ripple.

Ripple released at least 1 billion XRP coins at the beginning of the year from its escrow. The digital assets are equivalent to approximately $200,000.

Brad Added that:

“Ripple is not in a position to control the price of XRP anymore. Comparing to the ability of the whales to control the price of bitcoin”

XRP [XRP/USD] Price Analysis: Cryptocurrency sees bullish light as price tries to hold steady

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The cryptocurrency market recently went through a change in sentiment with the bull ensuring that the value of digital assets gets a reprieve. XRP, the 3rd placed cryptocurrency has been trying to get on a price ramp for some time now and the latest pump was just what the doctor ordered. XRP, along with its compatriots blinked green across the charts and holders have kept their fingers crossed for the current phenomenon to continue.

1 hour:

The hourly chart put the hike in perspective as the larger green candles had outperformed any bearish pullback. The immediate support was at $0.196 while the resistance was at $0.22.

XRP Price Analysis
Hourly Chart

The Parabolic SAR was below the price candles, signaling a slight downturn in price. During the price hike, the markers were below the candles with the trend line implying the same message.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator had dipped below the zero line. This meant that the capital coming into the market was less than the outflow.

The MACD indicator showed a drastic change in characteristics after the arrival of the bear. The MACD line and the signal line had crossed over each other while the histogram pointed to a mixed bull/bear atmosphere.

1 day:

The one day spectrum painted a more sombre picture for Ripple’s native cryptocurrency. The immediate support for XRP on the daily chart was $0.18 after a sustained bearish hold.

XRP price analysis
One day Chart

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator was much above the zero line, indicating a massive capital inflow. This change in investor sentiment is what users are expecting in the short term too.

The Parabolic SAR was below the price candles in the daily chart after the short term gains made its impact felt. The markers are indicative of a bullish atmosphere for XRP upfront.

The MACD indicator was below the histogram with the signal line and the MACD line moving parallel to each other. The histogram was a mix of both bearish and bullish signals.

Conclusion:

The XRP community has been hoping against hope that the cryptocurrency’s price goes back to its glory days. The above-mentioned indicators painted a picture of an industry struggling to get out the bear rut created in 2019. This might be a case of ‘slow and steady wins the race’ and XRP’s use cases are doing everything they can to nudge the price in the right direction.

 

 

XRP Shows Flip-Flop Price Pattern as Value Picks up The Pace

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The cryptocurrency market has been showing multiple behavioural changes over the past couple of weeks with price action shifting on a dynamic basis. From being bullish, to bearish, to bullish again, the market has definitely turned the heads of several users and investors.

Since December 29, XRP has gone through multiple changes in value to settle at what it is currently trading at today. The rice shift has been a hotch-potch of bearish dips and bullish corrections. On the first day of the trend, the change to XRP in range was negative 0.561 percent, which was followed by a 9.6 percent decrease on the bearish scale. The next two checks showed that the price had corrected itself a bit, clocking a positive change of 5.275 percent and 0.5799 percent respectively.

The total number of accounts exclusive of escrows amounted to 50.125 million while the total number of coins was still stacked at 99.991 billion. Since December 29th, the total new accounts formed were calculated to be 3,192. The average number of accounts with more than 20 XRP as holdings amounted to 29,953.

At press time, XRP was trading for $0.204 with a total market cap of $8.852 billion. The 24-hour market volume for the third-largest cryptocurrency was $1.303 billion, after a 4.73 percent hike on the daily chart. The number of accounts in the XRP range has also been increasing, starting from seven in number to peaking at 1.269 million accounts. The percentage of accounts per US population clocked at 0.56 percent while the percentage of accounts per world population touched a minuscule 0.02 percent.

The last trading week witnessed a massive increase in turnover, causing the total market cap to hit the $196 billion target. Analysts stated that the rollercoaster price ride could stem from external factors such as the influence of bigger banks. The Central Bank of South Korea recently announced plans to create a group that will assess digital currencies of multiple banks around the world.

Ripple’s Series C Funding Round Elevation Allows it to Beat Top Performing NASDAQ, S&P 500 stocks

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The company became hugely popular due to its belief in cross border transactions and a faster settlements time period. Apart from this Ripple has maintained a strong stance to give back to its investors in handsome dividends. 

Ripple and their diverse range of partnerships have sparked numerous investments for the company’s endeavours. The end of last year saw a flurry of activity in Ripple’s inner sanctum with its CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealing that the company had received a $200 million boost during its latest Series C funding round. This new capital raised the company’s valuation to a whopping $10 billion, outstripping the marks set by previous FinTech organization.

Turns out Ripple’s funding round was so good, it beat the values of approximately 93 percent of the 2691 stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index. Not just that, it was also above 16 percent of all S&P 500 stocks. The companies that lost to Ripple were household names like Whirlpool, Under Armour, Xerox including others.

Brad Garlinghouse had earlier stated:

“We are in a strong financial position to execute against our vision. As others in the blockchain space have slowed their growth or even shut down, we have accelerated our momentum and industry leadership throughout 2019.”

Companies like Akamai, Alliant Energy and Amdocs failed to meet the target set by Ripple, individually clocking $2.83 billion, $3.46 billion and $4.09 billion. The stock markets have always been considered as a key metric in measuring the success of an organization, and given that Ripple is still in its startup phase, there are still a lot of things to be considered. The finicky nature of the industry has prompted many to wait and watch the progress from a distance before they can jump into the pool again.

Ripple, on their part, have been quite varied when it comes to public listings. The growing number of rules and regulations with the added scrutiny levied by governments, the company would rather wait for a more concrete law book. Ripple and it’s native token XRP have been at two ends of the spectrum in terms of success rate with the latter’s value diminishing in the bear market. That, however, did not stop Ripple CTO David Schwartz from claiming that XRP was similar to the iPhone in terms of a technological leap. Schwartz leapt at the chance to defend XRP and tweeted:

“The truth is though that nobody really cares that much who else they create value for. They care what features and advantages something can provide for them. I don’t avoid an iPhone because I don’t want Apple stockholders to make money. Why do I much care who makes money?”