PSG Kicks Off Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Partnership With Socios

Paris Saint-Germain today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with blockchain platform Socios .com.

As "Official Branded Cryptocurrency Partner" of Paris Saint-Germain, Socios .com will work alongside the Club to develop Paris Saint-Germain's blockchain strategy, to leverage the technology to enhance and evolve its fan engagement.

Paris Saint-Germain will be the first team to join the Socios .com platform. As part of the partnership, Socios .com will work alongside the club to develop the world's first Fan Token Offering (FTO) for the Paris Saint-Germain fanbase.

The Paris Saint-Germain fan token will be listed on the Socios .com platform and will allow fans to engage with the Club through mobile voting and polling platforms. Token owners will also be granted access to exclusive fan rewards, content and experiences.   

The partnership forms part of the club's broader strategy to integrate blockchain technology, to enhance its relationship with fans and business operations.

Through Socios .com, transactions will be fully digital, secure, transparent and entirely connected to the real fan experience.

Indian Government-Appointed Commission Recognizes Crypto as Means of Payment

The Law Commission of India recently published a report on the legal framework for gambling and sports betting in India. The 140-page report explains that gambling is defined as the act of “wagering or betting on games of chance but does not include betting or wagering on games of skill.” Wagering and betting are subsequently defined as “the staking of money or virtual currency [VC], whether or not it is equivalent to a recognized currency.”

The commission was established by the order of the Indian government to advise them on legal reforms. It was asked by the country’s supreme court in July 2016 to examine if betting should be legalized in India.

According to the report:

The issue of online gambling has further been worsened by the rise in popularity and ease of availability of VC, a form of electronic money.

Indian Government-Appointed Commission Recognizes Crypto as Means of PaymentThe commission noted that gambling with cryptocurrencies “pushes even the online gambling market underground, and very often, out of the reach of the law enforcement authorities.”

While proposing that “stringent law(s) should be put in place to control foreign direct investment and at the same time, to prevent money laundering, while also implementing necessary tax reforms,” the commission wrote in the report’s conclusions and recommendations section:

Similar restrictions should also be prescribed for the purpose of the amount one would be allowed to stake while using electronic money facilities of the likes of credit cards, debit cards, net-banking, VCs, etc.

The report additionally states that “gambling transactions should be made cashless, making use of electronic means of payment such as credit cards, debit cards, net-banking, virtual currencies (VC – also known as cryptocurrency), etc.”

⁠Google partners with two New York-based blockchain firms to offer DLT solutions on its Cloud Platform

Google is joining the list of tech giants to deploy blockchain technology to offer customers fintech and cloud service solutions, according to an official statement Monday, July 23.

Google announced that the company has partnered with two blockchain-focused firms, Digital Asset and BlockApps, to offer new distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions on Google's Cloud Platform (GCP), which would allow users to "explore ways [customers] might use distributed ledger technology frameworks.”

Digital Asset is a supplier of distributed ledger software for the fintech industry, while BlockApps offers a blockchain platform to launch decentralized apps (DApps).

In the statement “Building a better cloud with our partners at Next ‘18,” ahead of Google’s Cloud Next '18 conference, the company specified that later on this year, customers will be able to test out open-source integrations for Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum (ETH) protocols in the GCP Marketplace service.

Digital Asset CEO Blythe Masters noted that that the upcoming solution would “reduce the technical barriers to DLT application development,” according to a Computerworld report July 23.

With the new partnerships, Google joins other high-profile tech companies with blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) offerings, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle Amazon Web Services (AWS), which introduced its blockchain platform for DApps in April 2018.

In March, Google announced it would start blocking crypto-related ads of all sorts in June 2018, following the move of Facebook social media giant, which recently reversed the ban on cryptocurrency ads.

On July 8, Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealed that he is Ethereum miner. Speaking at the Blockchain Summit in Morocco Brin said that mining Ethereum was a “side hustle,” and that cryptocurrencies are “mind-boggling.”

Samsung Stores in the Baltic States Now Accept Cryptocurrencies

The platform Coppay is a European fintech firm that offers payment gateways for cryptocurrency paying customers throughout 31 merchant locations. Now the company has announced that Samsung is truly embracing its slogan to “Turn on Future” by accepting seven different cryptocurrencies. The digital currencies the Samsung stores will be accepting for payments include bitcoin core (BTC), dash (DASH), NEM (XEM), steem (STEEM), ripple (XRP), litecoin (LTC), and ethereum (ETH). 

“Customers in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, and Kaunas can buy Samsung smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV-sets, and more with digital money,” explains Coppay’s announcement.

Cryptocurrencies, in particular, have been extremely popular in the Baltic states and digital assets have broad acceptance in states like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. There is a great variety of merchants that accept bitcoin payments for coffee, apartments, bars, restaurants, hotels, specialty shops, clothing stores, and massage parlors. Regulatory policy in the Baltic region barely exists, except for Latvia, which may impose a 20 percent capital gains tax on cryptocurrency exchanges

Samsung also has shown interest in blockchain technology and it’s well known the firm creates semiconductors for cryptocurrency mining devices. The company’s earnings had spiked significantly in 2017 due to semiconductor demand tethered to digital asset mining operations. The payment processor Coppay operates similarly to the firm Bitpay’s platform and merchants are allowed to keep the cryptocurrency from sales, exchange it for fiat, or a combination of both. The company explains the other Samsung merchants will also be adding the crypto-payment feature through their system as well.  

Indian Supreme Court Decision on Central Bank Crypto Dealings Ban Moved to September

The Supreme Court of India’s hearing on the central bank’s ban on crypto dealings, originally scheduled for July 20, has been moved to September, according to a July 19 Twitter post by a team of Indian lawyers involved in crypto regulatory analysis.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) crypto banking ban was implemented in early April of this year, and prohibits local banks from providing services to any person or business that deals with cryptocurrencies.

The July 19 tweet notes that the Supreme Court listened to “limited arguments” on the behalf of the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and RBI, but due to a “few others” not filing responses to petitions, the final arguments will be heard on September 11, 2018.

In mid-May, the Supreme Court had upheld RBI’s crypto dealings ban until the July hearing, in early July also ruling not to grant interim relief to those affected by the ban.

The deadline to implement the ban on dealing with crypto-related accounts expired July 5. Since then, Indian citizens have not been able to buy and sell crypto on exchanges, and crypto exchanges and companies cannot receive loans from banks in India.

Also in July, an anonymous source in the government reported that Indian regulators might treat cryptocurrency as a commodity rather than instituting a blanket ban.

What is ETF? What is Bitcoin ETF?

ETF stands for "exchange-traded fund" and describes a kind of investment fund where the price of assets like gold, stocks and oil can be tracked. These assets can then be traded on exchanges, just like conventional stocks. What this means is that investors have the option of buying and selling their holdings in this exchange-traded funds to other investors via the stock exchange.

What is Bitcoin ETF?

Basically, a Bitcoin ETF is one where the underlying asset is Bitcoin. This means that when you purchase Bitcoin ETF, you're purchasing the cryptocurrency, albeit indirectly. This is because you're holding the Bitcoin ETF in your portfolio and this ETF tracks the real-time price of Bitcoin. Therefore, the difference is that when you invest in Bitcoin ETF, you have the luxury of trading Bitcoins without the struggles of buying and storing it.

what is Effect on BTC ?

the application of ETFs by Wallstreet firms is a clear indicator that the big money is coming into the crypto markets through the additional products of ETFs. The impact of these products is expected to be astronomical in the sense that if the SEC approves the ETFs, they would have indirectly given the green-light for mainstream investing in all other cryptocurrencies. Hence the trillions in funds will eventually end up in the crypto markets.

When...? 10 August or Later ?

The tentative date for the SEC's decision is Friday, August 10 — though, a 45-day extension is possible. This means that a decision should be expected no later than September 24. (Do Investment by considering it)

High Possibility ? Yes!

One major reason for last year's rejection was that Bitcoin markets were "unregulated." "Based on the record before it, the Commission believes that the significant markets for bitcoin are unregulated," it explained. But later that year, Bitcoin Futures began trading as big investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan started dipping their toes in cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin ETF: Will August 10th Mark The Revival of High Bitcoin Price?

Bitcoin ETF fate is finally going to be decided on August 10. Currently, SEC is asking for comments on the listing and trading of Bitcoin ETF introduced by VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust that will be catering to only accredited investors.

The proposed date by SEC to give its decision is August 10 that by extension will also decide the fate of cryptocurrencies and if trillion dollar funds will finally pour in the crypto market.

A few days back, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened the CBOE ETF filing for public comments which is most likely to be concluded on August 10.

The official website of SEC states, "Comments on Cboe BZX Rulemaking" in regards with the "Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to List and Trade Shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares Issued by the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust".

This proposal calls for the listing and trading of SolidX bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) which states that it will only invest in bitcoin. SolidX and VanEck came together for this in early June. It was not even their first attempt, but the third one to build a bitcoin investment project.

SIGNAL Massive Potential (+100% Profits Potential)

$LRC looks pretty good right now, with some volume accumulation and strong RSI. Looks like its going to be the next SNGLS and AST

$LRC seems to be following the Technical Analysis very well. Looks to head towards it's intial peak, and if it breaks could possibly see an all-time-high!

and also It might be because of breaking the Falling Wedge (Reversal) pattern Look at the Daily time frame, and The price has become oversold according to the RSI and StochRSI Indicator, signaling the possibility for the bulls to take over

Its gonna be the next SNGLS & AST and go up 1x at LEAST!

$LRC going to experience a breakout soon according to our TAs. IF you want to get some $LRC, its time to get in now! Its either now or never!

How To Get Rich In 2018

You have a bitcoin now.  Or if you don't, get it.

The bitcoin can be only mined at certain speed, and once the limit is hit, new bitcoin can't be mined or produced.

This makes it appreciating vs depreciation (fiat) asset.

It's better than gold, because it's:
1) fast
2) digital
3) lightweight
4) mineable circulation is known


It is better than fiat because:
1) it appreciates in value
2) it doesn't belong to one body (government) that prints it
3) it's supply is known vs (how much money you really know banks have, back up or just write on the balance sheet?)

And you are here.

There is total of around 20 million wallets in the world.  Twenty.  Brother, this makes you in top percentile by just having a wallet.

Majority hasn't started to use bitcoin yet, and yet we are now stress-testing them for them, for the world and future of money.

You will be richly rewarded.

Heck even if you sell now all and never get back, you did an important part for the community.  But don't do that.  Set some bitcoin aside... the golden number is one... one, full, shiny Bitcoin...

as it might be worth 100k in the next three years.

Yes, people say this year. It can be, or doesn't have to be... but tell me this, which other investment you know you can buy, store at usb, carry with you and fucking make 15x in less than three years?

I hope this gets your perspective a bit away from day trading.

This is the best way to look at day trading:
You take a shoot...

You take a shoot approach is the only-win method, basically... it goes like this:

I pick an asset that is tied to bitcoin on the mid term, say zrx coin...

if zrx coin goes up, you profited.  If it doesn't, you hold it the same way you would hold bitcoin, and don't sell in bearish times, but in bullish.

You invest in bitcoin at $19000.  You don't sell.  You hold.   I was one of lucky ones to sell at it's all time high.  However, on the long term... it is the same as if you sell it now for $3000.  I used that money to buy more btc later on (what wasn't spent on poor girls with so little clothes on).

You take a shoot, but if you know the picture, every shoot is a winning shoot if you follow these three criteria:
1) you invest in a solid project
2) that project is on the market
3) you don't lose access to it

Yes, I do expect bitcoin to take the leading role and alts to start disappearing, but that process won't happen overnight, you'll get a chance to break even on 99% of the solid alts and most likely profit making yourself even more bitcoins.

Avoid these investment mistakes

#1 Mistake - Switching Timeframes
You must go from top to bottom, not the other way around.  People make stupid decisions, emotional when they see bitcoin down and they sell it, for fiat.  At that stage the game is over and you lost.

Then, people tend to listen to the shortest timeframe while having long term continuation in mind.  It's stupid.  It rarely ever happens that what is happening on the short term will remain long term.  Bitcoin in the next months, not even years won't even have the same patterns it has now.  Do you really expect it to go down then up then down then up on a twice per day basis for the next three years? 

I don't know about you, but I'd crack the pattern if it would be repeated continuously, forever. And so would many others.

So, for example I made btc prediction for the next month or so I made it two months in advance.  The moment I write it goes up, some guy goes to bitmex and looks if it is going up.  IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MICRO TIMEFRAME!

The same way, I say bitcoin goes down today or tomorrow... for a dip.  It doesn't mean bitcoin goes down this week, or month or a year.  This is so common mistake, people go around the forums and collect info based on different timeframes.

For example how I think btc looks now:
next 24hrs - bearish
next 7 days - bearish/bullish transition
next 4 weeks - bullish
next 4 years - bullish
next 20 years - I don't know

Hyperbitcoinization: $100mil Per Coin by 2030

Daniel Krawisz doesn’t immediately grab first-time observers as a leading cryptocurrency philosopher. Mouse-colored, little Dutch boy hair, which he’ll at times flip in unintended punctuation during talks, and his generally casual demeanor could cause audience members to wonder aloud why a random stranger has taken the dais.

Mr. Krawisz doesn’t ever cite his academic credentials. He is absolutely devoid of appeals to authority, credentialism, and officialdom. He can often be heard challenging listeners to not believe him. Crypto fame of a kind came his way around Spring of 2014. As co-founder of the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute, his articles took on new meaning during bitcoin’s run up and up and up through 2017.

Hyperbitcoinization is his most enduring effort from that time, and he can be credited with the concept and neologism. “Bitcoin-induced currency demonetization, or hyperbitcoinization” is what would occur should “any hapless currency” stand “in bitcoin’s path of total world domination. If this happens, the currency will rapidly lose value as bitcoin supplants it,” he stressed. Years later, the topic has returned in some circles.

The piece is less braggadocio and more nuanced than proponents are prone to mention, but it does speak to a time in bitcoin core (BTC) history when community optimism reigned. The current store of value talk and digital gold hodl maximalism is somewhat revisionist, which more honest BTC enthusiasts concede. The discussion then was mostly about merchant adoption, medium of exchange qualities, and prospects of freeing emerging economies from legacy remittance arrangements. These attributes are no longer highlighted by BTCers.

Recently, Hyperbitcoinization: Winner Takes All (or how Bitcoin gets to $100,000,000) was posted by Coin Monks. Pseudo-anonymous author Obiwankenobit lays out Mr. Krawisz’s case anew. In a longer, mathy, graphic-filled essay, he builds the case for a hyper-hyper-hyperbitcoinization even the most optimistic BTC true believers might have trouble getting behind. Everett Roger, Laszlo Hanyecz, Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economics, S-curves, Andreas Antonopoulos, Daniel Krawisz, Satoshi Nakamoto combine to build the basic argument.

As bitcoin is accepted more around the world (and “acceptance” isn’t well defined), “the cost of rejecting bitcoin will exceed the cost of adopting it. Bitcoin will begin to assume money’s traditional roles and gain institutional and government support. It will become all money and form the backbone of a new global economy,” Obiwankenobit explains, describing the “tipping point.” 

No Stay Granted by Supreme Court of India

 

The Supreme Court of India heard one petition against the crypto banking ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday, July 3. This petition is by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) whose members include major crypto exchanges in the country such as Unocoin, Zebpay, and Wazirx.

The central bank issued a circular on April 6, banning all financial institutions under its control from servicing cryptocurrency companies. The ban is set to take effect on July 5. A number of industry participants have petitioned against the ban. Other than the petition by IAMAI, there are four other petitions which the Supreme Court will hear on July 20.

Wazirx's founder and CEO, Nischal Shetty, shared with news.Bitcoin.com after Tuesday's hearing that the Supreme Court did not grant a stay on RBI's crypto banking ban. The IAMAI petition will now be heard along with the rest of the petitions on July 20. "All eyes are on the 20th now," he emphasized, elaborating:

The IAMAI had [also] submitted a representation to the RBI which was a detailed document explaining blockchain, cryptos and how they function. The RBI has said it will respond to that within 7 days….The representation was made with the belief that if the RBI gets a deep understanding of blockchain and crypto then they may go easy on the ban and think about regulations.

Indian Crypto Exchanges Launching P2P Trading Services – Bypassing RBI Ban

With the impending banking ban by the Reserve Bank of India, cryptocurrency exchanges in the country are scrambling to find banking alternatives. Two Indian exchanges have announced that they are launching P2P crypto trading services which will allow traders to buy and sell crypto legally even after the central bank's ban.

With the banking ban by the central bank set to take effect on July 5, Indian crypto exchange Wazirx has been working on a solution for users to buy and sell crypto without needing a banking service.

The exchange announced last week that it is launching a P2P crypto transfer service which it claims to be "the most legal way to buy/sell cryptos in India after the RBI ban". CEO Nischal Shetty described:

Wazirx releases the crypto to the buyer upon receiving a confirmation from the seller, he noted. "We verify the KYC details of every user before allowing them to trade on Wazirx, and keep a record of each and every transaction that occurs on our exchange."

Launched in March, Wazirx currently supports the trading of 37 cryptocurrencies against INR and 17 BTC trading pairs.

Speaking to news.Bitcoin.com, Shetty shared, "we have 35 coins listed in just 3 months of launch". With over 100,000 users currently, he added that his exchange is the "fastest to list those many coins in India in such a short span of time."

Planning for RBI's Ban

The P2P trading service will launch once the RBI ban takes effect, Shetty explained. According to the central bank's circular, the ban prohibiting banks from servicing crypto businesses will commence on July 5.

"We will launch it whenever banks completely stop providing their services to crypto exchanges…tentatively 6th July but we'll need to wait and watch," Shetty told news.Bitcoin.com, noting:

People have been worried about how they would convert their fiat (INR) to crypto and vice versa. As soon as we announced P2P there was a big sigh of relief as users in India realized there are alternatives to the ban.

Five known petitions have been filed with the courts against the RBI ban. The supreme court will hear all cases on July 20, except for one petition which was filed by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). This petition will be heard on July 3. "After considering the urgency, the supreme court decided to hear this one out on 3rd which is before the RBI deadline," Shetty detailed. Wazirx is a member of this association as are some other major crypto exchanges such as Unocoin and Zebpay.

Controversial Tezos Project Announces Launch of ‘Betanet’

The Tezos Foundation has launched its beta network, calling the move an "inflection point" for the project, according to an official statement June 30.

According to Tezos' statement, the team has proposed the genesis block of their so-called 'betanet,' and transactions can be processed on the network. The Tezos team also stated that users can start validating blocks or 'baking' after the first seven cycles, which they estimate to be in about three weeks.

In their statement, the company encourages community members to take precautionary measures to ensure the security of their tokens while interacting with the betanet. Tezos further warns that there is nothing the firm can do if "tezzies" tokens (XTZ) are lost or stolen.

According to Tezos' website, the betanet is being launched in anticipation of a broader main network launch in the future.

Since raising a record-breaking $232 million during its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in July 2017, Tezos has been the subject of scrutiny and multiple lawsuits concerning compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The lawsuits claim that Tezos tokens should be considered securities under U.S. law, meaning they would have had to be registered with the SEC to be legally sold to U.S. investors.

The platform has also received criticism for delaying the release of its tokens to investors following its ICO. Following the token sale, a dispute arose between co-founders Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, who own Tezos' intellectual property rights, and Tezos Foundation board president Johann Gevers, who controlled the raised funds, leading to a delay of the platform's launch.

In April, Tezos Arthur Breitman was fined $20,000 by U.S. regulators and banned from broker activity until 2020 because he failed to disclose Tezos-related "outside business activities" while working for Morgan Stanley to Wall Street's Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Major Indian Cryptocurrency Exchange Shares What to Expect When RBI Ban Begins

The crypto banking ban mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to take effect on July 5, according to the central bank's circular issued on April 6. There are five known petitions against the ban that the Supreme Court will hear on July 20, with one exception. The petition by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) will be heard on July 3.

One of India's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Unocoin, is a member of IAMAI, as are some other major crypto exchanges including Zebpay and Coinsecure.

Speaking with news.Bitcoin.com on Saturday, Unocoin's CEO and co-founder, Sathvik Vishwanath, explained that the sentiment among Indian traders "is quite weaker than before." He elaborated that banks would not support crypto exchanges' customers "to send and receive INR as it would still violate the RBI policy which not only restricts entities but also individuals." The CEO added:

The Bangalore-based crypto exchange, with about 370,000 unique users, recently launched a crypto-to-crypto trading platform called Unodax.

Several other crypto exchanges in India have similarly launched all-crypto platforms, including Zebpay and Koinex, with the hopes that investors will continue to trade cryptos even without banking support. However, Vishwanath revealed to news.Bitcoin.com:

Unocoin announced this week that it is working on banking alternatives for when the RBI ban takes effect. "Due to the RBI's recent notification on 'Prohibition on Dealing in Virtual Currencies'," the exchange warned:

ICO Round-Up: Social Media Influencers Bypass Ad Ban, Centra Tokens Deemed Securities

Three stories dominate this week’s initial coin offering (ICO) round up: It appears many ICO projects are reaching out to social media influencers in an effort to thwart advertising bans across leading platforms. A study published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) suggested that the country develop a licenced-based regulatory apparatus that permits cryptocurrency activities including ICOs. A U.S. judge has found that CTR, tokens distributed through Centra Tech’s ICO that sought the promotional services of boxer Floyd Mayweather, demonstrate numerous attributes of a security under existing legislation.

A report by the LA Times has looked into the increasing prevalence of ICO promoters employing the services of social media influencers in the midst of the prohibition on cryptocurrency advertisements on a number of leading social platforms.

The report cites research conducted by Solume, which found that approximately 18% of cryptocurrency-related posts on Reddit, Twitter, and Bitcointalk.org now typically originate from bounty campaigns set-up by ICO promoters. In January, by contrast, the figure was 6%.

“It’s really a very cost-effective mechanism for developing a brand,” stated Saransh Sharma, the president of 4new – who are currently conducting an ICO. “Before you know it, there’s a snowball effect,” he added.

Whilst ICO promoters appear to have found a means through which they can advertise on social media platforms despite the ban, some are not convinced that the practice of paying social media influencers to promote ICOs will last for long.

Lex Sokolin, the global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research, stated: “Once it becomes clear that financial outcomes can be manipulated not just by trading but [also by] creating perceptions through social media, regulators will take a very hard stance.”

Why You Should NOT Buy Your Favorite Coin Now... Until You Understand These Risks

Yes BTC did come down and we expect a bull run up as per my report.

However, btc lately became incredibly bearish and it's a matter of time when some alts will realize they can't survive at all in those condions and not drop, but go to ZERO!

So, yes, these times might be GOLDEN to buy, if you believe your coin will survive.  Take that into account.

On the good note, where does the money from dipped coins go to?

Bitcoin!

So bitcoin is going to gain more on value when this phase begins.  And when it will begin, I don't know.

So, just take this into account when deciding whether you're aiming for another bullrun or not.  Yes, it probably will happen and you will make good gains, so buying is profitable, but without understanding the risks it is not smart.

This message is to inform you that this time, the risk is bigger than until now when you bought coin low to sell high... now the market has been ass fucked to much that some people (and remember not all professional, educated or experienced investors in this space!)... are losing hope.

And hope there is - a brilliant, shiny, richly profitable.

Union Square Ventures to Invest in Crypto and Blockchain Long-Term Without Dedicated Fund

Union Square Ventures (USV), a private equity and venture capital firm, has plans to invest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies over the course of the next 10 years, CNBC reports June 29. Those plans, however, do not include establishing a separate fund.

Albert Wenger, managing partner at USV, told CNBC that “we see a lot of upside to keeping it under the same roof.” Despite prevailing the bear market in cryptocurrency, the company has an optimistic long-term view of the industry. Wenger said:

“Investors are rationally pouring a lot of money into this sector, because I think people are seeing the winning blockchain here might be worth a trillion, or a couple of trillion dollars. It’s not at all crazy to think that.”

Though Wenger echoed Steve Wozniak’s statement, that blockchain is a bubble similar to that of dotcom era, he argued that the risk could be justified for those investors who diversify their investments. “Certainly, for any one particular project there's an extremely high chance it won't work. As a result, if it works, the rewards will be very high,” he said.

Speaking about initial coin offerings (ICOs), Wenger called them an "innovative new financing mechanism," though he said they are not suitable for every blockchain project. CNBC, with reference to research firm Autonomous Next, reported that in 2017, ICOs raised $6.6 billion and have reached $9.1 billion this year. Wenger asserted that the amount investors have raised in an ICO is not necessarily an accurate indicator of success. Wenger reportedly owns Bitcoin (BTC) and says that he is aware of the risks to retail investors:

“I don't think you should be in the space and say 'I'm only going to hold Bitcoin.’ At the moment, this whole space is a high risk space, and I don’t think anybody should be investing all of their life savings.”

New York-based USV specializes in startup financing, investing in organizations that apply technology-supporting applications, as well as Internet and web services that establish large networks. USV’s portfolio exceeds 100 companies, containing a number of crypto investments, which include digital currency exchange Coinbase and Ethereum-based virtual collective game CryptoKitties.

In April, USV and Andreessen Horowitz urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission  to consider a cryptocurrency exemption at a private meeting. The crypto investors argued that ICO tokens should not be considered as investments, but as products that can be used to access services of startup companies. It would reportedly allow startups to carry out token sales without observing formalities such as business reviews and financial reports.

How To Adapt Early To Crypto Market Changes

Take a look at BNB - Binance token. It remained almost unshaken in the last dips... and has pretty strong chart compared to btc.

It doesn't do well on btc bull runs though.

Now ask yourself why is that, and what does this tell us about the market. 

1) It is BTC resistent in the latest, worst dips... why?

Binance is one of if not the biggest strongest, crypto company of all. They handle stuff well, and they improve. They make more profit than mid sized banks, meaning their token has a REAL value.

Now this brings us to 

2) why it doesn't do well in crypto bull run?

Again, which coins did best in 2017? Shit coins — when market sentiment was super bullish. BNB doesn't stand a chance, noone believe that tomorrow bnb will turn one exchange into 10 exchanges... they are what they are.

How did the bull run happen in the first place?

In early days there was Satoshi and the crew — the last thing on their mind was to get rich quick, and they built something with passion that was valuable.

Then came guys who said: "hey this is great, we can do also this and that"... and they started building.... all good, passionate projects...

then as Bitcoin came on radars of more average folks, came the opportunists, who wanted to make money fast by developing anything, not caring about the product — and thus shitty icos came to light.

Those shitty icos went ballistic as people expected them to be the same quality projects like the ones until then.

2018 is the nasty surprise, they were shit, and the market was no longer willing to tolerate it... 

Binance token being resistent, shows us that the market screams for good projects again, and we are coming in the new phase of filtration — more strict, and more use-specific.

In that same run btc grew a bit faster than it was supposed, so this year was the correction... however, now that more money is exiting alts, it is entering bitcoin. My bitcoin analysis is still accurate, although the possibility of one week extension might happen. We will see. It's playing now dangerously in lower levels that are also accumulation on daily... however now, you're not investing in hyper overvalued bitcoin,you're investing in more mature, serious, meaning-business bitcoin that will grow.

Cryptocurrency calendar today

🚀 Today's Events : 30/6/2018 🚀

🗓 Shift ($SHIFT) – Blockchain Integration With IPFS Cluster

🗓 NPER ($NPER) – Airdrop

🗓 ClearPoll ($POLL) – Telegram Member Airdrop

🗓 Ontology ($ONT) – Tokyo Meetup

🗓 Nodium ($XN) – T-Shirt Design Competition Ends

🗓 Bitcoin Interest ($BCI) – Referral Program Contest Ends

🗓 StakeNet ($XSN) – Platform Launch

🗓 Experty ($EXY) – Application Market Release

🗓 Leviar ($XLC) – Hard Fork

🗓 Linda ($LINDA) – Mobile App Launch

🗓 SyncFab ($MFG) – Token Burn Phase 1

🗓 Titanium BAR ($TBAR) – Dedicated Blockchain Development Beta Release

🗓 ColossusXT ($COLX) – Higher PoS & MN Rewards Increase

🗓 SONM ($SNM) – Crypto-IaaS Full Version Launch

🗓 Lisk ($LSK) – Custom Tokens & DApp Registration

🗓 Banyan Network ($BBN) – AMA On Reddit

🗓 Utrum ($OOT) – To Be Listed On Coinexchange

Indian Exchange Zebpay Boosts Trading Support for 19 Cryptos Ahead of RBI Ban

Leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay has added new cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading platform. The exchange now supports 19 cryptocurrencies and over 35 trading pairs, as it prepares for the banking ban by the country's central bank to go into effect next week.

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, Zebpay, announced Friday that it has added a number of cryptocurrencies to its crypto-to-crypto trading service. Zebpay claims to have over 3 million users.

The exchange launched its crypto-to-crypto trading service in late April with just one trading pair – ETH/BTC. In early May, it added six more markets, trading BTC against BCH, LTC, XRP, EOS, OMG, and TRX.

Then on Friday, June 29, Zebpay added 10 new crypto-to-crypto markets: NCASH, REP, BAT, ZRX, ZIL, GNT, VEN, KNC, CMT, and AE. The exchange wrote, "Zebpay announces the launch of 10 new crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. You can now trade 10 new tokens, supported by Zebpay, with BTC," adding:

The 2018 Crypto-Bear Market Less Severe Than 2014, At Least for Now

Bitcoin prices back in 2013 touched a high of $1,236 per BTC on December 4, and following that spike the price dropped for more than a year, all the way to $225 per coin on June 1, 2015. Last year in 2017 the price of BTC ran up higher, but this time reached $19,600 per coin, and it has lost considerable value since then. At the moment mainstream media (MSM) is reporting on how people who bought at the height in 2017 have lost quite a bit of their investment, but MSM has failed to report that this year's dip is less, percentage wise, than the losses in 2013 and the extent of $19K to $6K loss has been far less severe.

No Polish Regulations Prohibit Cryptocurrency Trading

The Polish Bitcoin Association asserts that the alleged restriction of financial services to cryptocurrency companies has occurred without a legislative mandate, emphasizing that there is no prohibitive regulatory regime concerning the exchange of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this month, the Polish Financial Oversight Commission published a document seeking to clarify the legal status of cryptocurrency in the country, in which the watchdog stated that there are "no regulations prohibiting [the] trading […] of cryptocurrencies. The release also expressed the Polish Financial Oversight Commission's intention to develop and introduce a regulatory apparatus pertaining to bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies during July.

Earlier this week, a survey conducted by Ipsos for ING found that Polish citizens are among the most virtual currency-savvy in Europe – with 77% of respondents expressing familiarity with cryptocurrency. The survey found only one European nation to produce a higher percentage of respondents that had heard of cryptocurrency, with 79% of Austrians found the have been familiar with virtual currency.

Finland Government and Essentia.One Reveal Plans for International Blockchain Logistics Hub

Essentia.One – the decentralized interoperability protocol – has announced it's partnership with the Finland Govt. to develop a second pilot. This time Essentia will focus on building blockchain based solutions in the field of smart logistics.

Essentia co-founder Matteo Gianpietro Zago confirmed their move as a progression from their first pilot which began development back in April of this year to tackle unemployment rates and to track production chains.

"The success of our first e-government blockchain project with MTK meant we built a level of mutual trust, and as passionate believers in the underlying value in blockchain, we knew that we could adapt the technology to solve many more issues in different governmental departments"

Finland has now begun ventures to secure its place as one of the leading logistics hubs in the world. Industry representatives are seeking forward thinking solutions to combat the issues facing the ever-expanding administration and data management in logistics and transportation.

Essentia.One has teamed up with the governmental association 'Traffic Lab' to ensure information regarding end-to-end deliveries – such as delivery contents and contact information – are securely and safely accessible to authorized stakeholders.

"We envision the Essentia protocol completely revolutionizing the methods of data management. The proven power, and benefits of Blockchain technology will give Finland's international logistics hub that extra competitive edge," says Matteo speaking from the Amsterdam headquarters.

The pilot is set to be presented to Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish Transport Safety Agency Trafi, the Finnish Transport Agency, the Finnish customs, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority and other members of the new Corridor as a Service (CaaS) ecosystem.

Banking Ban Reversal? India to Finalise Crypto currency Regulations in July

The head of the Indian government committee tasked to propose a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector has revealed authorities are close to finalizing a draft in July.

Nearly three months after the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, introduced a banking freeze on the cryptocurrency sector to adversely impact trading volumes, exchanges and investors have remained hopeful of legislation that regulates – in effect recognizes and legalizes – the industry.

Earlier this month, we reported that the Indian government committee responsible for overseeing and proposing a regulatory framework wasn’t in favor of a blanket ban of the cryptocurrency sector.

In a televised interview with India’s biggest financial news channel, the head of that government committee and the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs Subash Chandra Garg confirmed that the authority is in the final stage of finalizing the regulatory draft framework for the cryptocurrency sector.

He stated:

`We are fairly close to developing a template [for crypto regulations] that we think is in the best interests of the country. We have prepared a draft which we intend to discuss with the committee members in the first week of July.”

First established in early 2017, the inter-governmental committee was expected to bring some clarity to the longstanding legal ambiguity of cryptocurrencies in the country. What followed has been anything but, with government ministries, the central bank, domestic banks and even the country’s finance minister weighing in with varying statements on cryptocurrencies.

Still, Garg insisted that the committee – which originally had three months to submit a report a year ago – had made significant progress in developing a draft framework which is now expected in July.

He added:

“We’ve actually moved quite a lot [in drafting regulations] in that, what part of the [crypto] business should be banned, what should be preserved and what not. That kind of detailed work has happened. Now should be in a position to wrap this up in the first fortnight of July.”

Meanwhile, Indian cryptocurrency exchanges have fast-tracked their petition to legally challenge the RBI’s ban of their banking services with a hearing on July 3rd.

The court hearing is scheduled two days before the RBI’s order comes into effect on July 5. In preparation to the ban, some Indian exchanges like Zebpay have proactively warned users that withdrawals of their fiat funds will become “impossible” in the event of a banking blackout, urging them to do so before the ban kicks in.

We’ll Treat Cryptocurrencies with Caution, Says Russian President Putin

The Russian government will continue to tread the subject of cryptocurrencies with caution, newly re-elected president Vladimir Putin said during his annual Q&A hotline session with the Russian public.

On Thursday’s live “Direct Line” session with president Putin, a citizen asked if Russia will have its own cryptocurrency and, if so, if it would be controlled by the government. Putin was also asked to offer his thoughts on cryptocurrencies’ disruptive potential to replace standard physical fiat cash.

In response, Putin said Russia cannot have a cryptocurrency since they “by definition” aren’t within the control of a state and are “beyond national borders”, he explained. While that explanation may fall short in the context of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Putin admitted the “phenomenon” of cryptocurrencies is growing globally.
Cryptocurrencies as payment instruments have been adopted in Japan but “it doesn’t work in other countries” Putin said, highlighting the views of Russia’s own central bank on the subject.

Putin said:

“In most countries, cryptocurrency is not a means of settlement. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation believes that cryptocurrencies cannot be a means of payment, settlement or store of value. These currencies are not secured by anything.”

The latest national ‘hotline’ was Putin’s 16th live Q&A session with a Russian public, a four-hour annual televised event with curated questions. Notably, it was the first session wherein the platform saw discussion surrounding cryptocurrencies and the sector’s expected regulations.

Putin even touched on cryptocurrency mining, stating it “is not regulated by us” but “we treat it very carefully”. An energy-intensive process, cryptocurrency mining sees blocks of validated transactions added to the blockchain wherein miners are rewarded with newly minted coins.

Avoiding Sanctions with Cryptocurrencies
As for its potential applications, Putin insisted that Russia should explore the possibility of using cryptocurrencies to “avoid restrictions in global finance and trade”, hinting at the possibility of using blockchain technology to avoid western financial sanctions led by the United States.

The Russian president’s remarks on the subject come within weeks of a Moscow meeting between Iranian and Russian officials discussing the usage of cryptocurrency for international trade.

Fidelity is Quietly Building a Cryptocurrency Exchange: Report

Multi-trillion dollar asset manager Fidelity Investments is building a cryptocurrency exchange, internal job postings have revealed.

According to Business Insider, the Boston, MA-based firm has advertised internally for a DevOps System Engineer “to help engineer, create and deploy a Digital Asset exchange to both a public and private cloud.”

Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter, the publication further reported that Fidelity, which currently manages $2.4 trillion in assets, has been planning the initiative for approximately one year.

The company is also seeking staff to develop “first-in-class custodian services for Bitcoin and other digital currencies.”The latter position falls under the Fidelity Digital Asset Service division, which handles the firm’s limited cryptocurrency-related services.

At present, select clients can link their Coinbase accounts to their Fidelity portfolios, enabling them to view their cryptocurrency holdings on the Fidelity platform alongside their other investments. This new service would allow Fidelity to hold cryptoassets directly.

It’s not clear whether the cryptocurrency exchange would be made available on the main Fidelity platform or whether it would exist as a separate entity under the company’s umbrella. Nor is it clear when the venue would launch.

Under CEO Abigail Johnson’s leadership, Fidelity was one of the first institutions to give the nascent cryptocurrency asset class a serious look.

“I’m a believer,” she said at a cryptocurrency industry conference last May. “I’m one of the few standing before you today from a large financial services company that has not given up on digital currencies.”

The firm has made venture investments in several industry companies and reportedly even set up a small cryptocurrency mining operation that Johnson said was “actually making a lot of money” even though it had been established primarily for educational purposes.

The company’s charitable wing also allows donors to make contributions in bitcoin, and the fund has collected tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies over the years — including $22 million in 2017 alone.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have seen soaring valuations in recent months, and a number from this once-opaque industry have approached regulators about acquiring licenses that would help demonstrate their legitimacy to large institutions.

Circle, which recently acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, has revealed that it will pursue registration as a broker-dealer and alternative trading system (ATS) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may ultimately pursue a banking license. Coinbase has reportedly discussed similar plans, though it has not given public confirmation.

However, if a firm as large and well-known as Fidelity launched a cryptocurrency exchange, it would undoubtedly go much further toward cementing the legitimacy of this asset class alongside other financial instruments.

‘World’s Largest Ethereum Wallet’ ImToken Raises $10 Million Series A to Fund Global Expansion

Chinese ethereum wallet startup imToken has raised a $10 million Series A from IDG Capital as it seeks to expand its product offering and finance international expansion into Asia, Africa, and the United States.

The Hangzhou-based company, which was founded in 2016, claims to be the world’s largest ethereum wallet, with more than 4 million monthly active users and support for 30,000 tokens.

ImToken says that $35 billion worth of funds have been stored in the app over the past calendar year, which is 75 percent more than the “more than $20 billion” that Coinbase has said its customers have stored on its platform. Self-reported data also indicates that imToken users account for approximately 10 percent of all ethereum transactions.

“imToken has developed its product into one of the top crypto asset wallets in the world with such a sound reputation. We believe it will become a significant infrastructure for the tokenization manifesto, benefitting both the crypto economy and blockchain technology,” IDG Capital’s Young Guo was quoted as saying in a press statement.

According to Bloomberg, 70 percent of imToken’s user base comes from China, and the company has said that IDG’s funding will be used to bootstrap international adoption. The firm will open an office in Singapore that will focus on expansion into Southeast Asia, after which it intends to expand into the rest of Asia as well as African countries where the app already has a core user group. Finally, the firm will make a global push, expanding into the US and other regions.

Though available to Western users, the app has yet to make much of a dent in this market. At present, the app has approximately 100,000 installs from the Google Play store — which is not readily available in China — along with a four-star rating.

ImToken also intends to use the funds to expand the range of assets supported by the mobile wallet. The company recently rolled out support for bitcoin (including SegWit), and it also intends to develop compatibility with EOS and other blockchains.

Kuwait Bank Adopts Ripple(XRP) for Instant Cross-Border Payments

The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has become the Arab nation’s first bank to join RippleNet, an enterprise blockchain network from industry giant Ripple, for international remittance payments.

In an announcement, the Kuwaiti bank confirmed its move to join RippleNet, a SWIFT-replacement global blockchain network that sees over 100 financial institutions including banks, payment providers, remittance operators and other financial institutions use the product for real-time clearing and settlement of international transactions.

KFH, which is also Kuwait’s first Islamic bank, underlined its intention to use Ripple’s ‘unique tool’ for cross-border payments for its retail customers, stating:

With this, KFH can provide instant and secure cross-border money transfers within seconds, with end-to-end visibility over the journey of the payment.

Details of the offering are currently scarce and it remains to be seen if the bank uses Ripple’s xCurrent, an enterprise blockchain software that enables settlements in fiat or xRapid, a product which uses Ripple’s token cryptocurrency XRP for real-time liquidity for international transactions.

While the bank says it will require the approval of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) prior to the launch of the Ripple-enabled service, KFH insists customers will benefit from faster payments in increased efficiency, security and transparency of the transaction at markedly lower costs than traditional remittance solutions.

Elsewhere in the region, UAE-based RAK Bank, also known as the National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah, an emirate in the UAE, became a RippleNet member in September to enable “instant, frictionless and secure money transfer services” to recipients with accounts in India’s Axis Bank, also a RippleNet member. In February, one of the Middle East’s biggest money transfer and forex firms, the UAE Exchange, also joined the blockchain network developed by San Francisco-based Ripple.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the defacto central bank of Saudi Arabia, has also partnered Ripple to pilot Ripple’s xCurrent among a number of regional banks. The SAMA also became the first central bank in the world to join RippleNet.

Porn Star Stormy Daniels Now Accepts Vice Industry Token on Official Website

The Vice Industry Token (VIT) Network will include twenty adult sites as part of a partnership with Darkreach Communications, including one that features the work of alleged Trump mistress Stormy Daniels.

Vice Token CEO Stewart Duncan said:

“Stormy Daniels understands the value of cryptocurrency. We are thrilled that she chose our blockchain technology to implement on her site.”

The Vice Industry Token is a decentralized cryptographic token that will be used as an incentive to encourage media engagement within the adult media community. For example, visitors to StormyDaniels.com will be rewarded with VIT for watching content or interacting with it by liking or commenting, and the VIT can then be spent on subscriptions or premium content on Ms. Daniels’ site or other partnered adult sites. The token can also be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies and spent or converted into fiat currency, supposedly allowing users to earn money simply for consuming adult media on any of the partnered sites.

Based in Ottowa, Canada, Darkreach Communications manages over 20 adult websites for porn studios and individual stars like Stormy Daniels and Jayden James, and VIT will be introduced to all of them. Darkreach President Rob Murray said the decision to incorporate cryptocurrency into his client’s websites was a “no-brainer”:

 “With VIT, everyone is going to make money – from the users on my sites, to myself and the performers. The way the VIT blockchain works, we all get a piece of the token, and the guaranteed genuine data is the icing in the cake.”

VIT CEO Duncan said that this was simply the first of many upcoming partnerships in the pipeline for Vice Industry Token, and that the team were working on more.

“We have been working extremely hard to ensure that when our platform launches we will have a large network of sites that accept our token to monetize users just for interacting with content. This is just the first set of partners. We are talking to new companies every day.  It’s an easy sell because with our model everyone wins.”

This is the latest instance of cryptocurrency adoption within the adult industry, with Pornhub recently introducing Verge currency as a payment option for private subscriptions and allowing for one-time payments for content using Verge after their partnership with MindGeek. Pornhub even allowed Verge to be used as a reward incentive much like VIT with Darkreach sites, potentially spelling big things for the cryptocurrency.

However, the world’s biggest porn site may be reconsidering, with a recent Pornhub competition offering prizes worth tens of thousands of dollars paid in cryptocurrency – and the cryptocurrency is Vice Token.

Pornhub may be flirting with Vice after the recent 51% attack on Verge which significantly impacted public perception of the reliability of the crypto token.

Bitcoin Price to Bottom at $5,700 in Short-Term Before Recovery: Analyst

Willy Woo, a respected cryptocurrency, and digital asset analyst, recently stated that the bitcoin price might likely fall below the $6,000 mark in the short-term.

Recent Market Struggles

Since mid-May, ever since the bitcoin price failed to test a major support level at $10,000, the cryptocurrency market has been on a continuous decline. The vast majority of tokens and small cryptocurrencies have followed the price trend of bitcoin and Ethereum. On both the upside and downside, the price movement of tokens intensified, recording larger drops than bitcoin during minor corrections.

On May 25, Woo noted that the bitcoin price would likely dip below the $6,000 level and test $5,500 to $5,700 as a long-term support level. In previous reports, CCN noted that the $6,500 mark is an important resistance level which bitcoin has been able to bounce off of since early January.

In the short-term, it is likely that bitcoin falls below $7,000 and test the $6,500 resistance level and the failure to remain above that level will likely send bitcoin to the lower end of $6,000 and potentially to the higher end of $5,000.

Woo named four major reasons to support his call:

High NVT signal
High volatility
Standard NVT overly high
Volume Profile cliff below $6,800

“NVT Signal is still too high. We need more blockchain transactional activity to justify the current price, or the price to drop to reconcile the difference. To drive up transactional activity in a bear slide is very unlikely. Volatility is still too high. I’m looking for a sustained low band of volatility which tends to be a signal for the end of the detox and the next accumulation phase. It’s still got some time to ride down,” said Woo.

NVT Signal is a trading indicator developed by Woo, which is essentially a Standard NVT Ratio–Network Valuation divided by Transaction Value on the blockchain smoothed using moving average–except that instead of applying the moving average to both Network Valuation and Transaction Value, NVT Signal applies moving average to only the Transaction Value, creating a more responsive chart.

While it is unlikely that the bitcoin price drops to the lower end of $5,000, Woo stated that bitcoin would most likely not be able to hold up in the $7,000 region and inevitably drop down to the $6,000 region.

But, because of the intensity of the decline since late 2017, Woo emphasized that 2018 will not see a similar correction period as 2014 and prevent a 2-phase drop.

“So, in summary, my best guess… slowish bleed down to $6800… then a steeper slide to $5700, then a leveling out of the drop… then a flat zone. This is an educated guess based on volume profile and fundamental data framing the rate of movement,” added Woo.

Bitcoin Price to Rebound from $5,700
In October 2017, after nearly doubling in price within a 3-month period, the bitcoin price achieved $5,700. Falling to the $5,700 region would essentially send the price of bitcoin back by nine months.

However, the cryptocurrency market is significantly different from where it was in October. Its volumes are in orders of magnitude larger and the standard of infrastructure provided by companies like Coinbase and Gemini are unprecedented compared to the platforms that were available in early 2017.

Given the difference in the volume and structure of the market in comparison to 2017 and previous years, both Woo and other analysts in the cryptocurrency sector agree that the next bull rally or up cycle for bitcoin will take less time to initiate, possibly in the third quarter of 2018.

Bitcoin Price Drops to $7,300 as Cryptocurrency Market Correction Continues

The bitcoin price has dropped below the $7,300 mark as the valuation of the cryptocurrency market declined by more than $25 billion, from $350 billion to $325 billion over the past 24 hours.
Within the past three days, within merely 72 hours, the valuation of the cryptocurrency market sharply dropped from $390 to $333 billion, losing more than $57 billion. At its previously weekly low, the valuation of the cryptocurrency market dipped to $327 billion. Today, on May 24, the cryptocurrency market fell to a new monthly low.

What is Causing the Market to Drop?

As always, a wide range of factors have contributed to the recent market correction and it is difficult to pinpoint several events as the definitive factors behind the fall of the market. Rather, it as an amalgamation of many events that have occurred throughout the year, which include:

Mt. Gox sell-off

Possible manipulation by large-scale traders in the futures market
Bitfinex taxation policy
Bithumb and UPbit scandal in South Korea
Failure of institutional investors to meet the anticipation of the community
Regulatory uncertainty in several regions
But, it is most likely that the launch of the bitcoin futures market in late 2017 and the manipulation of the cryptocurrency market eventually led the market to become extremely volatile and experience large corrections on a regular basis.

The massive sell-off of bitcoin by the Mt. Gox trustee and a series of negative events from South Korea and the US-led investors to lose confidence in the cryptocurrency market in the short-term.

Earlier today, Bloomberg also reported that the US government and the Justice Department launched an investigation into illicit trading and bitcoin price manipulation.

“The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into whether traders are manipulating the price of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, dramatically ratcheting up U.S. scrutiny of red-hot markets that critics say are rife with misconduct, according to four people familiar with the matter,” Matt Robinson from Bloomberg reported.

Due to the abnormal volatility in the cryptocurrency market, it is likely that the US government suspects whales and large-scale investors of manipulating the market to drive larger movements on both the upside and downside.

Where Does Bitcoin go From Here?

Yesterday, CCN reported that the breach of the $8,000 resistance level could send the bitcoin price to the lower end of $7,000. Based on the strong downward trend of bitcoin, it is likely that the dominant cryptocurrency dips below $7,000 and reaches $6,900 before rebounding.

Other cryptocurrencies such as Polymath, Ethos, Storm, Zcash, and Waves, which have recorded large gains throughout April and May, declined by 10 to 20 percent against both bitcoin and the US dollar.

Although the Relative Strength Index (RSI) of bitcoin is signifying a neutral zone, it is unlikely that the bitcoin price rebounds before dropping to the lower end of $7,000.

Ethereum, in particular, has experienced a sharp drop over the past 24 hours, declining by more than 10 percent against the US dollar.

Start-Up Uses Blockchain And AI To Offer ‘Trustworthy, Unbiased’ Skincare Advice

A new project aims to rejuvenate the skincare industry by launching a blockchain platform designed to solve problems “experienced by millions of people globally.”

Opu Labs says the vast majority of consumers get advice from social media, friends and product marketers – information which is often biased or too general to take their unique skin type into account. According to its white paper, just 12 percent of people  get recommendations from professional dermatologists, but more than 80 percent would like to do so.

The project wants to provide individuals with “personalized, intelligent treatment options” and recommendations they can trust. It believes its technology could enhance the quality of skincare services while making them available to a broader cross-section of consumers.

Eventually, Opu Labs plans for its technology to be split into five core services.

One of them is Opu AI, a skincare analysis platform which will be free and available as an app for smartphones and web browsers. The company says this software is driven by artificial intelligence and can detect redness, acne, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and skin tone when provided with a facial image. From here, four regions of the face are scored based on their skin condition. This information can then be used to discover treatments and predict the improvements they would bring.

Other tools are in development

Opu Labs is currently developing an array of other tools – including a real-time search platform which would recommend products to users based on their skin condition and search history. A survey cited by the company suggests over 30 percent of users will spend 10 or more days researching products online before making a purchase decision, but currently face information overload and struggle to verify expertise when using mainstream search engines.

The company is also working on Opu Connect, an engine which would pool the data of users that they opt in. Consumers would be awarded with OPU coins, the ecosystem’s token, if they do so –  skincare companies would get the chance to use this information for the research and development of new products.

Opu CRM would be geared towards skincare professionals – enabling them to hold consultations with patients and create treatment plans. This would be coupled with a blockchain-enabled medical records system  that would allow patient data to be exchanged securely.

“From a dermatologist’s perspective there’s a genuine need to offer their professional expertise to a mass audience. Over 500 mln Facebook users are interested in skincare, yet there’s no quick trusted solution that allows dermatology  professionals to meet the individual needs of these global customers,” the company’s white paper adds.

Tapping into its primary market

Opu Labs believes that 80 percent of the consumers using its platform will be female. The company says its target market is aged between 18 and 35, have internet access, are highly educated and generally spend about $75 a month on skincare products.

In the third quarter of 2018, the company hopes to launch in Asia and release a native version of its app for Android. This would be followed by iOS software and expansion to the US in the following quarter. It hopes the functionality to make treatment recommendations – and a presence in further countries across EU – will be achieved by the end of the year.

A 100 percent bonus on tokens purchased during its presale is being offered until June 26. Its initial coin offering will follow in July.

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