Bitcoin has swung wildly this week, as many had expected it to, with it losing $1,000 per bitcoin a few days ago before suddenly shooting back up earlier today.
The bitcoin price is now at over $9,000 per bitcoin after dropping to lows of almost $7,000 on Thursday–and heading fast towards the psychological $10,000 mark, according to the latest prices from Luxembourg-based exchange Bitstamp.
Elsewhere, other major cryptocurrencies ethereum, litecoin, Ripple’s XRP, and bitcoin cash rallied between 7% and 23%, adding billions to the value of the combined cryptocurrency market.
Many bitcoin and cryptocurrency market analysts pointed to comments made by China’s president President Xi Jinping that the country should “seize the opportunity” of bitcoin’s blockchain technology as the reason behind bitcoin’s rally.
China banned bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017 and some took Xi’s blockchain comments as a sign the country could ease bitcoin and crypto restrictions.
“We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies,” Xi reportedly said, speaking at the 18th collective study of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in Beijing.
“[We must] clarify the main direction, increase investment, focus on a number of key core technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation.”
However, Xi’s comments, which referred only to blockchain technology and not to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, might not have been the driver behind bitcoin’s recovery.
Following bitcoin’s sudden drop earlier this week, bitcoin and crypto investors feared the worst wasn’t over the for the market.
Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was savaged by U.S. senators over his plans for a bitcoin rival dubbed libra and crypto investors are fretting there could be a global crackdown on bitcoin and other digital tokens.
Elsewhere, technical data pointed to a so-called “death cross” for bitcoin, while the Fear & Greed Index slumped and a Twitter reading of investor temperature was poor.
This sentiment slump meant investors bet against the bitcoin price, predicting it would move lower.
When the bitcoin price recovered a couple of hundred dollars per bitcoin in just a few minutes, some $150 million worth of short positions on the Seychelles-based BitMEX crypto exchange were liquidated, according to bitcoin and cryptocurrency analytics provider Skew.
The bitcoin price has suddenly surged after a sell-off earlier this week, leaving many bitcoin and … [+]
Coindesk
This triggered what’s known as a “short squeeze,” where an asset rapidly increases in value due to short sellers trying to cover their positions, resulting in buying volume that drives the price up.
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com. Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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Now, it appears Google searches for bitcoin and BTC, the name used by traders for the bitcoin digital token, could be being manipulated–-possibly in order to move the bitcoin price.
This week there has been a massive leap in Google searches for “BTC,” which usually is lower than searches for “bitcoin”–with search volume for “BTC” around the world now far higher than it was even at the top of bitcoin’s epic 2017 bull run.
The trend may have started in Romania, researchers at bitcoin and cryptocurrency news and analysis website Kryptografen found.
“It is reasonable to assume that someone is behind these radical changes,” wrote Kryptografen’s Bendik Norheim Schei.
“That the same pattern can be seen all over the world may indicate that VPN services have been used to distribute the search across the world, thus achieving a global trend. Google Trends points out that changes have been relatively large in Romania. Is this the source, or is it just because there have been fewer searches for BTC previously? Whatever the answer is–something very strange has happened to the interest in the keyword ‘BTC’ this past week.”
The bitcoin price has in the past tracked searches for “bitcoin” and “BTC” quite closely, with a sudden rise in searches for “BTC” without a similar rise in the price highly unusual.
Searches for “BTC” (red) have never been higher, with Romania a possible the source of the surge.
Google Trends
Other bitcoin and cryptocurrency analysts were quick to join Schei in pointing to potential market manipulation.
“Somebody’s trying to game the trading algorithms,” said Glen Goodman, trading veteran and author of bitcoin investment book, The Crypto Trader, who explained how this could be used to move bitcoin prices on the market.
“There are algorithms programmed to look at Google Trends data and try to find correlations between numbers of searches for the word ‘BTC’ and the movements in the bitcoin price.”
“If they detect patterns, it may be profitable to trade off that data. This hacker may be buying some BTC, then sending a ton of ‘BTC’ search queries to Google, the algos see search numbers have risen and are triggered to buy a lot of BTC which pushes the price up, and the hacker then sells their BTC at a profit. Easy money!”
Meanwhile, it seems whoever is trying to manipulate the search results for “BTC” is doing it in an organised way.
The bitcoin price usually moves higher if Google searches for “bitcoin” and “BTC” rise, though this hasn’t happened to a significant degree.
Coindesk
“These searches appear to be timed to coincide with the quietest time in each country–around 4am or 5am, when search traffic is subdued, so the spam search queries will have maximum impact on the graph,” Goodman added.
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com. Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“Unlike the internet, which you couldn’t buy a piece of, you can actually buy a piece of this new internet of money,” Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss told CNN.
“It’s still a retail-driven market, from day one. And a lot of people have done really well. Wall Street has been asleep at the wheel,” the twins warned.
Bitcoin’s epic 2017 bull run, which saw the bitcoin price soar from under $1,000 per bitcoin at the beginning of the year to almost $20,000 in December, was largely thought to be due to Wall Street and institutional investment could be poised to flow into bitcoin and crypto.
“We had to invest because we were afraid of missing out, we couldn’t miss out on this future,” the twins added.
The bitcoin price has been hovering around the $10,000 level after surging earlier this year.
Coindesk
Meanwhile, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss earlier said they are open to partnering with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on the social media giant’s libra cryptocurrency project after it was revealed they have been in talks about joining the Libra Association.
The newly-created, independent governance consortium for Facebook’s planned token currently counts 28 founding members but is expected to swell to around 100 by the time of libra’s launch next year.
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com. Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss talk with Ben Mezrich and Paul Vigna about Cryptocurrency and the Future of Money. Recorded July 9, 2019 at 92nd Street Y. What do bitcoin, ether, zcash, litecoin and other cryptocurrencies tell us about where capitalism is going next? And how did the Winklevoss twins see it coming? Cryptocurrency has emerged in the last decade as a powerful bellwether for what money might look like in the future—and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are leading the way in how it’s being used. Join them for a fascinating discussion along with author Ben Mezrich (Bitcoin Billionaires) and the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Vigna about the origins of Gemini, their cryptocurrency exchange and custodian, and the future of money. Subscribe for more videos like this: http://bit.ly/1GpwawV Your support helps us keep our content free for all. Donate now: http://www.92y.org/donatenow?utm_sour… Facebook: http://facebook.com/92ndStreetY Instagram: http://Instagram.com/92ndStreetY Twitter: https://twitter.com/92Y Tumblr: http://92y.tumblr.com/ On Demand: http://www.92yondemand.org
The bitcoin price, which is now hovering just under $10,000 per bitcoin, has climbed so far this year mostly due to expectations the world’s biggest technology companies, led by social media giant Facebook, could be about to dive headfirst into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Now, it seems bitcoin could be headed for a sudden fall, with technical data suggesting the bitcoin price could be about to move sharply lower.
Bitcoin earlier this week broke below its 50-day moving average, which it’s thought could mean the bull run that saw the bitcoin price rise from under $4,000 per bitcoin at the beginning of the year to almost $14,000 could be over.
Bitcoin price data also shows it’s trading under the lower limit of the closely watched GTI Vera Band indicator, it was first reported by Bloomberg, a financial newswire.
It’s now thought that regulatory issues could completely derail Facebook’s libra project, though it says it’s committed to working with lawmakers around the world to make libra a reality.
“There can be no assurance that libra or our associated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, or at all,” Facebook said.
“[Bitcoin] stands at a key technical juncture,” Miller Tabak + Co.’s equity strategist Matt Maley was quoted by Bloomberg. “[Greater regulatory scrutiny] will become an even more prominent issue (much more prominent) once we move past the summer recess for Congress and into the meat of the 2020 election cycle.”
The bitcoin price has been climbing so far this year but the most recent rally could be coming to an end.
Coindesk
Earlier today, U.S. lawmakers grilled bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain experts on how Facebook’s libra could upset the U.S. economy.
“It’s clear that digital assets don’t really fit in our current financial system, as the current regulatory framework is awkwardly divided between banking regulators and market regulators,” said Christine Trent Parker, partner at law firm Reed Smith, following the hearing.
“It is unfortunate that today’s hearing made clear that Congress is not going to move forward any time soon in rectifying this issue and that in fact, the lack of clarity and uniformity may be intentional to hamper the ability of U.S. consumers to access (and benefit from) these technologies.”
Some bitcoin and cryptocurrency analysts remain upbeat, however, despite regulatory fears.
“Volumes continue to decline in the crypto market as the cool-down seems to be coming to completion,” Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at brokerage eToro, wrote in a note to clients.
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk
Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, and LTC prices, will be on a roller coaster for a long time. Traders and investors will make and lose fortunes in record time, betting on them. In the end, say some analysts, these cryptocurrencies will either die on their own, or be killed by the ‘establishment’ — big governments and big banks around the world that defend sovereign currencies.
Take the case for Bitcoin.
The “people’s currency” holds a great promise: to become the first true global currency, free of the control of central banks that print money and big banks that generate credit. But to do that, Bitcoin must gain the trust of the “general public.“ This means it must be adopted as a medium of exchange, standard of value, and store of value, replacing national currencies.That isn’t easy, given the many obstacles Bitcoin has to overcome. Like lack of awareness, familiarity, and stability, etc. And that makes some experts bearish about the future of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Price YTD
Lars Seier Christensen, Chairman of Concordium, the next-generation decentralized world computer, is one of them. “In the longer term, I am bearish on bitcoin as I believe it does not have the necessary characteristics of a longer-term valuable asset and, eventually, that reality will catch up” says Christensen.“But in the short term, price movements will likely be random as Bitcoin is affected by low liquidity and unpredictable bigger trades.”
Unpredictability will make it hard for Bitcoin to gain broad adoption as a medium of exchange. And without broad adoption, Bitcoin will remain a play for speculators and true believers, and eventually die on its own.
But even if Bitcoin overcomes all these obstacles and gains broad adoption by the general public, and was in a position to replace national currencies — ie, become the new currency — what would happen then?
Bears argue that the “establishment” cannot afford to let that happen.
For a couple of reasons, including the loss of Seigniorage” — simply put, the profit made by the national governments by printing currency. Then there’s the profit made by banks helping circulate that money and create credit.
The establishment will do whatever it takes to defend these profits from Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrency that seeks to replace it.
Recent Congressional hearings on Libra attests to the determination of the establishment to protect the dollar from competing cryptocurrencies. In a rare display of unity, Democrats and Republicans opposed Libra, and had many unkind words for Bitcoin.
“Cryptocurrencies that are ONLY there as a currency substitute, however, have no real long-term future,” says Christensen.“They will be outlawed by governments wanting to control the money supply and taxation, and in any case, cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic long-term value of significance. Hence, Bitcoin will only survive as a fringe activity.”
Not everyone agrees with this gloomy assessment, however. Dave Hodgson, Director and Co-Founder of NEM Ventures, is one of them.
“In my opinion, Bitcoin will never die nor be killed by the establishment, despite some people’s efforts to the contrary,” says Hodgson. “The recent drop we have seen in Bitcoin is within the boundaries of what our analysts were expecting from technical analysis. However, the timescale has been slightly skewed in light of recent announcements, primarily from US government representatives.”
Corentin Denoeud, CEO and Co-founder of Blockchain Studio, is another .
“The fact that governments around the world are even talking about crypto is a sign of progress for the blockchain industry in general,” says Denoeud. “While countries such as India have called for the outlawing of cryptocurrencies, representatives from Germany’s Central Bank have responded favourably and advanced the view that cryptocurrencies are not a threat to global monetary stability. Even China, who has previously banned ICOs and cryptocurrency trading, has called bitcoin a ‘safe-haven asset’ (via its state-run media agency) and is now reportedly stepping up its own efforts to create its own cryptocurrency, following Facebook’s unveiling of Libra.”
While it’s still unclear which side is right, one thing is clear: Bitcoin (and ETH, XRP, LTC, etc) true believers who think that cryptocurrency will eventually replace national currencies, need a 101 lesson in Money and Banking.
I’m Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at LIU Post in New York. I also teach at Columbia University. I’ve published several articles in professional journals and magazines, including Barron’s, The New York Times, Japan Times, Newsday, Plain Dealer, Edge Singapore, European Management Review, Management International Review, and Journal of Risk and Insurance. I’ve have also published several books, including Collective Entrepreneurship, The Ten Golden Rules, WOM and Buzz Marketing, Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy, China’s Challenge: Imitation or Innovation in International Business, and New Emerging Japanese Economy: Opportunity and Strategy for World Business. I’ve traveled extensively throughout the world giving lectures and seminars for private and government organizations, including Beijing Academy of Social Science, Nagoya University, Tokyo Science University, Keimung University, University of Adelaide, Saint Gallen University, Duisburg University, University of Edinburgh, and Athens University of Economics and Business. Interests: Global markets, business, investment strategy, personal success.
