Category Financial

By crossing the $ 40,000 threshold, bitcoin has doubled its all-time high of 2018. Will this unexpected rise change the feelings of business leaders? “The current increase is the result of the arrival of hedge funds”, explains Paul Desprairies, head of the blockchain lab of the Finnegan group. And these are arriving en masse in the United States due to a relaxation of banking regulations vis-à-vis cryptocurrencies. The OCC (office of the comptroller of the currency) has just released a note that clarifies what US banks are now allowed to do. “This opens up immense prospects, continues Paul Desprairies, American banks will be able to offer cryptocurrency services equivalent to what can be done with conventional currencies, with the added benefits of being completely digital.”

Scenting for a good deal, hedge funds anticipated legislative easing and rushed into bitcoin. “Their presence could stabilize prices, believes Paul Desprairies because they have the means to buy back when the price drops.” This theoretical possibility, however, did not prevent bitcoin from losing 6,000 do.

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The Dash Investment Fund (DIF), owned by the Dash network, has recently invested in CrayPay, a mobile payment platform that allows its users to instantly send and receive savings from over 150,000 locations and 75 national retail sites.

DASH (Digital Cash) announced the news on Tuesday which aims to increase adoption among its users. In coordination with this investment, Dash Core Group will be creating a new version of CrayPay’s saving platform to be utilized by DASH users.

A Broader Outreach

This collaboration means that users can spend and receive DASH back as savings from a plethora of American retail and online merchants. It will also give CrayPay users the opportunity to get exposure to the crypto if they choose to do so in the future.

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Vegas Auto Gallery, a luxury car dealership in Las Vegas, has become a playground for bitcoin-rich investors looking to make money.

The dealership recently sold two high-end sports cars - a Pagani Huayra Roadster 2017 and a Bugatti Chiron 2019 - to a customer who paid more than $ 6 million in bitcoin, according to owner Nick Dossa, who says about 3 % to 5% of the dealership's revenues come from bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoin prices more than tripled in 2020 and are around $ 26,600, making millionaires out of accumulators from investors who have piled up to build the popular market. Professional investors like Stanley Druckenmiller and companies like Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. started investing this year. Companies like Robinhood Markets Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. have allowed their customers to buy and sell bitcoin.

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Digital currencies may challenge and someday could make redundant the SWIFT global banking payment system, according to a Central Bank of Russia official, Russia Today reported.

Given the pace of development of central bank currencies, several countries may launch one in the next five to seven years, according to First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova, RT said.

“Then we can deal with direct integration issues. In this case SWIFT it may not be necessary, because it will be a different kind of technological interaction”

Skorobogatova said at a meeting last week, RT reported.

SWIFT is a messaging network that banks and other financial institutions use to securely transmit information and instructions via codes. It enables cross-border payments along with other services between more than 10,000 financial institutions in countries around the world.

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The combined value of all Bitcoin (BTC-USD) tokens in circulation has reached half a trillion dollars for the first time ever as the cryptocurrency continues its stellar rally.

According to Asset Dash, the digital currency now it takes 11th place among the biggest global assets, behind such giants as Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), and Tesla (TSLA) and ahead of Samsung (005930.KS), Walmart (WMT) and Coca Cola (KO).

It is also ahead of Visa making it the world’s largest financial service.

In just the last day alone, Bitcoin has climbed around 15% to $28,000 (£20,925), passing the psychological $25,000 benchmark.

It is currently up 7% on Sunday, and has risen around 50% since the week before Christmas.

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Becoming the Blockcha Turkey's and the current parameters of the development of the technology of the priority and urgency to pass mandatory subject of financial literacy in schools I İNOSA (Innovative Strategic Research Center) were negotiated by online activity panel.

In terms of saving, attitude and investment habits, Turkish people are inadequate and unsuccessful in managing their money and, in this respect, their life; In this context, in addition to the pandemic effect, it has become necessary to teach financial literacy in schools during this period when the world has entered a digital age, and the transformative power of blockchain technology in the economic / public services of the new world and Ankara's neighboring geography, especially the Turkish and Islamic world. Issues have been negotiated as the encrypted virtual) currency base should be.

About the relevant topics and results evaluated in the panel, the President of İNOSAM, Gürkan Avcı, stated the following in summary.

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After recovering from the aftermath of the $1 billion shorts liquidation in Bitcoin, traders have now been hit with increased activity on the Bitcoin network. The supply shortage narrative may still be at play; however, there is more stability than one would expect above $23,000. It may come as a shock to many, but network activity hasn’t dropped. In fact, it is climbing steadily to its 2017-levels, and that opens up the possibility of a newer ATH.

The previous week will possibly go down in history as the one with the most activity. There was a run-up of 22% in 1 week, the first such event since April 2019. Bitcoin’s price went from $20,000 to new ATH and despite corrections, it is back to trading above the $22,300-level. In fact, the price crossed its previous ATH, hit a few new highs, and then, a new ATH.

However, amidst the chaos, it is almost poetic that leveraged traders and whales have upped their risk profiles lately. Though $1 billion worth of positions got liquidated in two days, the price was still rallying towards a new ATH, with further price discovery on the shoulders of whales and institutions looking very likely. 

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Bitcoin halving is undeniably a huge event for the entire crypto comminute and one that has had great consequences, not just on Bitcoin. As the year comes to an end, we can really see the real consequences of the halving that occurred on May 11, 2020. In this article, we take a look at the halving and how it impacted Bitcoin over the course of 2020.

The role that miners have in the blockchain network is a good introduction to Bitcoin in general and how it is different from other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies.  Otherwise, they have an indispensable position because they have to solve computational problems in order to validate a new block of transactions in the network. Thus, their work not only ensures that the blockchain network is safe but also without the miners, it would be impossible for new BTC to enter into circulation.

It goes without saying that it is a tedious job that requires an investment in good equipment, computer hardware, energy, and time. The halving is an event set to happen after 210,000 are mined, and it occurs roughly every four years. The purpose of the halving is to cut the inflation in half, as the reward of miners is also split in half, with each halving. More specifically, the reward was 50 BTC before the first halving in 2012, then it got reduced to 25 BTC, and in 2020, it is 6.25 BTC.

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Devoid of any regulatory framework in the last four years, we have been operating in limbo when it comes to developing and advancing encryption products. Innovators in the fintech and blockchain industries have the ability and vision to create products that solve real problems for everyone, from individuals to big banks and governments, but without a clear path forward, these products cannot grow and scale to their full potential.

Regulation should not be a guessing game. Since 2019, when the Securities and Exchange Commission declared that neither Bitcoin (BTC) nor Ethereum (ETH) are securities, the sector is stagnant. Without clarity, blockchain innovation will be limited to just two currencies - the industry is much bigger than that. The lack of regulation stifles the immense potential that encryption and blockchain provide.

A new administration presents a new opportunity for elected officials across the political spectrum to develop clear policies and regulations that allow banks, fintechs and corporations to custody and use encryption to improve efficiency and provide a better customer experience.

Read the full story at: techcrunch.com.

Record levels of central bank liquidity and government stimulus during the global pandemic have expanded currency supply, which weighs on the purchasing power of fiat currencies. A fiat currency has only the faith and full credit of the countries that print the currency with legal course as collateral. The foreign exchange market measures the value of one currency in relation to others. Therefore, it is a challenge to see the overall impact of the devaluation on the fiat currency. The moves against gold, Bitcoin and other tangible assets provide some insights.

We saw the U.S. dollar, the world reserve currency, fall from its highest level since 2002 in March to the lowest since 2018 in December. The euro is also a reserve currency. As we move towards 2021, the outlook for the value of the euro against the US dollar looks optimistic. The Currency Invesco shares the Euro Currency Trust (NYSEARCA: FXE) moves up and down based on the value of the euro against the US dollar.

It is not uncommon for governments to manage currency levels through a coordinated intervention process. When a currency falls for technical or fundamental reasons, intervention to facilitate the fall provides stability. Foreign exchange markets tend to trend for long periods, and price spikes are a rare exception. Therefore, the level of price manipulation is high because governments can justify intervention. Meanwhile, all signs point to a general erosion in the value of the asset class.

Read the full story at: seekingalpha.com.