Crypto Brief 07/10: Expecting for the Bitcoin price bull run with news about Bitfinex, Blockchain, Reewardio, CoinField, Zap Wallet, TipJar, FOIN, BitTorrent
[Singapore – October 7] From the expecting for the Bitcoin (BTC) price to soon head higher while institutions and asset managers are net long on the CME’s Bitcoin futures contracts to Bitfinex in conjuncted with EOSFinex. Here are some highlights news from the crypto market.
Bitcoin News
Despite the harrowing price drop seen in late September, institutions are expecting for the Bitcoin (BTC) price to soon head higher — at least for institutions involved in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures market.
According to a recent Commitments of Traders report shared by Romano, traders that identify as either “asset managers” or “institutions” are currently 69.31% long on the CME’s Bitcoin futures, and 30.69% short by the number of contracts open.
COT Report: Bitcoin CME
Futures Only Positions as of 2019-10-01
CFTC Code: #133741Asset managers/Institutional net long
69.31 % long and 30.69% short(They were net short at the day of the bakkt launch. They have a good track record for the right directional trade) pic.twitter.com/utohW7wMlD
— [ Romano ] (@RNR_0) October 6, 2019
Romano noted that just two weeks ago, when Bakkt launched, the same report said that the aforementioned demographic was net short. Of course, Bitcoin crashed in the days that followed. This, he claims, is a sign that institutions “have a good track record for the right directional trade”.
It is important to note that while institutions and asset managers are net long on the CME’s Bitcoin futures contracts, leveraged funds, which use more aggressive investment techniques, are leaning in the opposite direction. Romano did not comment on that facet of the CME’s COT report.
Although Romano reminded his followers that institutions being net long isn’t a conclusive sign that Bitcoin will head higher in the near future, there is evidence to suggest that cryptocurrencies may soon rebound.
As reported by NewsBTC previously, recent price action, especially the capitulation from $10,000 to $7,700, is structurally similar to what took place in November and December of 2018, during which Bitcoin fell from $6,000 to $3,000 in a short period of time. Crypto Hamster recently wrote:
“It is too obvious to be true, but I have to admit that the drop from 6k to 3k and the following price action indeed looks very similar to what we have now.”
What he is implying is that Bitcoin may soon break to the upside, having bottomed in the recent flash crash.
Also, an analyst recently argued that Bitcoin’s four-hour chart looks “promising”, with there being an uptrend forming for both the Relative Strength Index and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) — a sign that they claim is an indication that “we may have a bottom”.
It is too obvious to be true, but I have to admit that the drop from 6k to 3k and the following price action indeed looks very similar to what we have now (the scale is different, of course).$BCT $BTCUSD #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/HFt0DfydlD
— CryptoHamster (@CryptoHamsterIO) October 6, 2019
It’s hard to replace Bitcoin and Ethereum
Bitcoin evangelist, Andreas Antonopoulos, in one of his talks, addressed how people are in search of investing in something that might be the next Bitcoin. He detailed how several “shit coins” come along and see themselves as the next Bitcoin. Certain characteristics including, better scalability or ease of use might be beneficial for the coin. However, if it’s too different than Bitcoin it wouldn’t be fit for the crypto world. He said,
“So how much does the new thing have to differentiate? Well, this is the real challenge because if it differentiates enough, if it’s different enough from Bitcoin, well then it’s no longer occupying the same environmental niche”.
Additionally, he highlighted how Ethereum was different enough from Bitcoin as Vitalik Buterin managed to bootstrap and use a security chain. The virtual machine-based smart contracts application space has been solidly occupied by Ethereum, he added.
Bitfinex News
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in conjunction with EOSFinex, its decentralized trading platform, have announced that they had successfully completed a “chainswap” to convert $5 million worth of Tether (USDT) stablecoins onto the EOS blockchain protocol.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 5, this way the companies aim to “provide the EOS DApp ecosystem with a stable and liquid store of value to reduce the risks pertaining to digital assets’ volatility.” Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino added:
“Promising projects aren’t getting the light of day with current congestion and volatility issues on other chains, and that is why there’s higher DApp usage on EOS. What EOS was lacking was a stablecoin that could help these projects manage exposure to price volatility.”
Bitfinex Releases $5 Million Tethers Onto EOS Network | Crowdfund Insider https://t.co/29jsXtsxZi —
Embattled crypto exchange Bitfinex has announced that it, “has completed a chainswap to convert US$5 million tethers onto the EOS p… pic.twitter.com/Uonm6x53ce
— Crypto Asset Home (@cryptoassethome) October 6, 2019
Blockchain News
Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to put its land registry on a blockchain platform.
The Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities, a government agency responsible for Abu Dhabi’s development strategy, has partnered with Indian IT firm Tech Mahindra for the initiative
The agency wants to provide Abu Dhabi citizens with a blockchain-based solution called SmartHub, which will help trace land records and reduce the processing time it takes to do real estate transactions. The solution will store all property-related documents issued by municipalities on a blockchain and help track records via nodes extended to different entities, per the announcement.
“The implementation of next gen technologies like Blockchain and SmartHub digital services will help serving a wider segment of citizens enhancing customer happiness, quality of life and accessibility of our services,” said Ahmad Abdolsamad AlHammadi, CIO of Abu Dhabi Municipality, on behalf of the department.
UAE’s Capital Abu Dhabi to Place Land Registry on Blockchain-based Platform https://t.co/kHlBYsVy8L pic.twitter.com/OgseuEnrGw
— Ethereum Price Canada (@EthereumPriceCa) October 7, 2019
The Blockchain Africa Conference 2020
The Blockchain Africa Conference is in its 6th year and we are expecting 600+ attendees to attend Africa’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency conference. Attendees will learn how companies and individuals alike are using this technology, what some of the most interesting use cases and applications are and what regulations are being considered and implemented across various jurisdictions.
The African continent has massive challenges with transactions and doing business that, with the help of blockchain technology, can be transformed into simpler and more efficient ways of working. The Blockchain Africa Conference 2020 will focus on moving Africa forward with the technology. It will discuss how the blockchain can simplify systems and processes to lower costs, reduce fraud, become highly secure and transparent, and remove human error and inefficiencies.
Reewardio News
Reewardio announced the launch of its Early Adopter Program, inviting brands and businesses to use their platform to create blockchain-powered rewards and loyalty programs. Interestingly, the team also announced that they would be tokenizing the software licenses for their platform, enabling users to pay for their SaaS subscription in advance, deposit and withdraw their subscription as tokens, and effectively resell their remaining credit.
Today we are launching our Early Adopter Program!
We are ready to customize, build and integrate @enjin-backed blockchain rewards into any brand or business.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to growth hack your way to success, join now!https://t.co/KUbPZf3H66
— Reewardio (@RealReewardio) October 6, 2019
Because the tokens are on Ethereum, they are independent of Reewardio’s system. Which means they can be distributed prior to the launch of the SaaS platform. This has created a unique marketing opportunity, which the start-up is using to launch a viral giveaway, offering the tokenized software license as the main prize. This creates an interesting new use case for blockchain technology because the tokens aren’t built to replace existing subscription models, it is simply designed to enhance it.
Epic news. @RealReewardio is GIVING AWAY the world’s first tokenized software licenses valued at $11,940!
This incredible @enjin & @ethereum use case makes it possible to PRE-ORDER software licenses, WIN them in giveaways, and RESELL them with ease!https://t.co/C9qbbj5Ddv
— BeyondHorizon (@BeyondHorizonIO) October 6, 2019
CoinField News
The Canada-based crypto exchange CoinField says it’s a step closer to launching a mysterious project designed to push mass adoption of XRP.
The exchange says it has launched an XRP validator and is preparing to roll out the project. The validator has already been added to Ripple’s Unique Node List (UNL) of trusted servers.
CEO Bob Ras is calling the upcoming project a game-changer for both the digital asset and the blockchain industry as a whole.
“This new ecosystem is the most sophisticated project ever built on top of XRPL, and it is the best use case for that.
We believe this will be a big step forward for the whole industry and the mass adoption of XRP blockchain.”
CoinField began teasing the project last month. The exchange posted a backwards “S” on Twitter, asking its followers for their take on the best use case for XRP.
Zap Wallet News
Bitcoin Lightning network may note another boost as Zap Wallet developers announced a new service to ease the process of using Lightning. Defined as a standalone component and complementary to Zap wallet, Olympus would allow users to settle payments through fiat in crypto using Lightning payments and in just seconds, announced Jack Maller, the founder of Zap wallet in a blog. The current system requires the users to follow multiple steps in order to settle via Lightning. Maller noted:
“Previously, the user story read like this: take fiat, buy bitcoin, wait until you’re allowed to withdraw, withdraw and wait for confirmations, deposit bitcoin onto the Lightning Network, open channels, wait for more confirmations, scan QR code.”
With Olympus, Maller claimed that anyone, including a newbie in the crypto world, can settle just by Downloading Olympus, buying Bitcoin and scanning the Lightning QR code.
TipJar News
In a Reddit post on October 6, user u/doppio requested users withdraw any remaining funds held on their accounts. TipJar’s Reddit bot for automated payments will stop functioning immediately, he said, with the website to follow “in six months.”
TipJar used Ethereum to offer micropayments on social media in various cryptocurrencies. Born in 2017, the service saw the considerable decline in altcoin markets continue for most of its existence.
FOIN News
FOIN, a cryptocurrency company and a developer of the transparent payment system FoPay, announced the strategic partnership with Cyclebit, a crypto payment solutions provider. According to the official information, starting from that day, FOIN, the decentralized peer to peer cryptocurrency for the finance sector, along with 20 other top cryptos are accepted at more than 200,000 points of sale in Europe, Asia, and Canada. Now, FOIN holders can use their digital assets to make purchasing in stores, cafes, restaurants, and even service companies (e.g. barber shops).
Moreover, FOIN has become an official distributor of the Cyclebit POS crypto terminals. It means that FOIN company now can offer payment solutions not only for e-commerce but also for offline retailers.
Cryptocurrency POS terminals provided by FOIN are able to accept both fiat and crypto payments. Paying for goods through the Cyclebit POS terminal has the same advantages with common blockchain transaction: it’s fast, simple, secure, and private — including no intermediaries and data sent for the third parties. For the customer the process of paying with crypto is very much alike to the purchasing with traditional bank cards:
- the customer chooses the product;
- the price specified in fiat money is converted into FOIN or another cryptocurrency according to the exchange rate;
- the customer pays with his cryptocurrency wallet;
- the terminal prints the paper receipt;
- the customer gets his purchased goods and the merchant — his money.
BitTorrent News
BitTorrent has released a BLive “Beta” for BitTorrent Android. Now users who opt-in to the app’s beta program will be able to download the version with BLive. The version with BLive is 6.3.2-beta. Users will only see BLive on this version.
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We have released #BLive “beta” for #BitTorrent Android!!!
Now users who opt-in to the app’s beta program will be able to download the version with BLive.A couple of important updates:
1. The version with BLive is “6.3.2-beta”. Users will see BLive only on this version.— BitTorrent Inc. (@BitTorrent) October 6, 2019
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