While one whale probably did not manipulate the 2017 Bitcoin price rally to its all-time high, it is reasonably accepted that whales do have the power to manipulate the nascent Bitcoin market. For this reason, Twitter account Whale Alert’s co-founder, Frank Weert, feels that Bitcoin could benefit from a whale extinction.

Weert is of the opinion that these whales still have enough sway to affect the market, but he is also hopeful that, in the years to come, that the distribution of Bitcoin will get better, and that could dissolve some of these big players, or at least lessen their impact on the market.

The future of Bitcoin, as an adopted and normalized investable asset, is currently hinged on its chances of becoming an ETF in the US. However, the SEC has continuously put its foot down in making this a reality citing market manipulation as one main reason.


More : https://beincrypto.com/could-a-potential-whale-extinction-be-good-for-bitcoin/

what do you think about this? let's discuss

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a warning against cryptocurrency futures contracts. The regulator reminds the public of the higher risk of using leverage to trade such contracts and that the platforms themselves may be operating illegally.

The warning comes on the back of newly-detailed regulatory proposals to govern the wider virtual asset exchange industry. BeInCrypto reported earlier today on a speech given by SFC Chief Executive Officer, Ashley Alder during Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019.

Existing Regulations and Cryptocurrency
The SFC is looking to apply existing securities regulations, with a few tweaks, to the virtual currency exchange industry. Those exchanges offering at least one digital asset deemed a security or product considered a futures contract will be forced to register with the authority. Alder says this will make for an “opt-in” system. Those exchanges not wanting to be regulated can simply drop all assets deemed securities and futures products and continue offering their services without SFC oversight and safeguards.

more : https://beincrypto.com/hong-kong-regulator-warns-against-high-leverage-cryptocurrency-futures-contracts/

Cryptocurrency exchanges are usually entrusted with copious amounts of user data, due to the nature of their business. However, as we have come to see on several occasions, not every firm can guarantee the safety of the data it holds.

Earlier today, Binance revealed on Twitter that it had noticed a massive leak — as BeInCrypto reported earlier — of email addresses from rival exchange BitMEX. The former urged its customers who had been affected by the leak to change their e-mails on its platform to stay safe.


more: https://beincrypto.com/binance-warns-users-to-switch-emails-following-bitmex-data-dump/

Since their inception, the majority of cryptocurrencies have significantly increased in price. However, Bitcoin has always had the highest market capitalization.

Additionally, the asset’s market dominance has been above 50% throughout the majority of its price history, meaning that its market cap has been higher than all other cryptocurrencies combined.

The lowest ever dominance percentage was reached in January 2018, with a value of 35%. Bitcoin’s market cap dominance is currently at 69%. According to our analysis, it is quickly approaching its top, and we could soon see a decrease, which would coincide with the beginning of “altseason”.

source: https://beincrypto.com/bitcoin-dominance-will-decrease-as-altseason-begins-notes-analyst/

Xi Jinping recently reiterated his blockchain-positive stance, praising the technology for its vast application. One application that the president of China did not specifically mention, but is coming to fruition, is its possibility to measure dedication to the Communist Party.

A new App in China has been launched that allows for members of the Communist Party to pledge their allegiance and loyalty to the ruling government by writing down and recording reasons they joined. These reasons are then stored on an immutable, but transparent, blockchain ledger.

China has had a double-edged relationship with blockchain. The country is in strong favor of the immutable ledger and its possibilities but actively shuns the decentralized economic system that has spawned with it. The main reason for this is the fact that they can garner more control from the technology.

more : https://beincrypto.com/china-launches-blockchain-propaganda-app-that-measures-communist-party-loyalty/

After Litecoin founder Charlie Lee teased new privacy features early this year,  it has finally published the first draft plans. Litecoin has proposed MimbleWimble (MW) transactions to bring on updated scaling and privacy features.

Litecoin launched in 2011 after forking from Bitcoin. Since then, the cryptocurrency has been trying very hard to differentiate itself from Bitcoin. Litecoin’s latest proposal for implementing MimbleWimble could be a huge game-changer.

https://twitter.com/MatiGreenspan/status/1187259861823840256

Litecoin Improvement Proposals
Litecoin has proposed two improvement proposals, LIP 2 and LIP 3. The first proposal, LIP 2, introduces extension blocks (EB) to Litecoin. It allows Litecoin to implement new protocols such as MimbleWimble without altering consensus rules. It is similar to a block size increase and runs alongside the main chain’s canonical blocks.

The second proposal, LIP 3, deals with the implementation of the MimbleWimble protocol. It uses the extension blocks proposed in LIP 2 and users can then use MimbleWimble by moving their coins into EB if they so choose.

full article at: https://beincrypto.com/litecoin-publishes-proposal-for-mimblewimble-implementation/

Do you think exchanges will delist Litecoin if they implement these privacy features?

On May 17, 2019, President Trump announced the withdrawal of steel and aluminum tariffs levied by the United States government on imports from Canada and Mexico. Is the trade war coming to an end?

At a time when the global economy is slowing down, the deal signaled a softening in President Trump’s stance on clinching trade deals. This has given renewed hope for American companies working closely with their Chinese counterparts for business purposes.

A trade deal between America and China could finally boost earnings and spark a rally in stock prices.



US-China Trade War Deal
Economist and investment strategist Edward Yardeni told CNBC that he expects stock prices of American companies directly affected by the trade war to rise after a US-China trade deal is negotiated. Companies have been actively seeking a way to circumvent trade sanctions and tariffs to continue business with Chinese providers.

Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, posted losses for the fourth consecutive week — an event that has occurred only once in the past three years.

After the tariff withdrawal announcement, however, stocks of American steelmakers and aluminum producers covered their losses. The positive news also spread beyond the border as Canada-based Stelco Holdings rallied almost 11 percent.

In the same time frame, Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies witnessed a sharp rally in the last week. The price of BTC spiked from $5,000 to reach 2019 highs of over $8,400. While it corrected to $7,000 briefly, it is once again trading around the $8,000 level



China Stands to Lose More in a Trade War
The crypto market has lost over 80 percent of its value since it peaked in December 2017. Major developments in international trade deals could propel investor sentiment, similar to the equity market.

Yardeni, who spent years working for Wall Street firms such as Prudential and Deutsche Bank, has a very optimistic outlook. He believes China stands to lose more in a trade war with America.

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate, a 25 percent tariff on all trade products levied by China and America would lower US GDP by 0.3 to 0.6 percent — but the potential loss for the Chinese GDP would be closer to 0.5-1.5 percent. This will likely compel the Asian manufacturing giant to hasten negotiations with America and reach a trade deal.

The American economy has shown signs of growth and revival which has strengthened President Trump’s position in negotiations.

Wall Street Outlook
Rupal Bhansali, Chief Investment Officer for international and global equities at Ariel Investments, believes the market was overvalued. It was not paying attention to risks and had already factored a best case scenario.

The equity market will react sharply to any negative news regarding any US-China trade deals. After all, the impact of American trade tariffs on China is having far-reaching consequences.

China has devalued its Yuan and also began to cut down on imports from other emerging Asian countries to balance its trade deficit. A devalued currency is making Chinese products cheaper and affecting the exports of other countries.


source: https://beincrypto.com/trade-war-conclusion-market-rallies/

Bitcoin (BTC) has more than doubled in value this year, though few can clearly point to why. One of the reasons may be that the conversation surrounding the market-leading cryptocurrency has matured, according to a metric by data analysis firm Indexica. In essence, the first cryptocurrency has “grown-up.”

Bitcoin’s explosive rise this year has been met with disbelief. After a year-long bear market, the flagship cryptocurrency has emerged from the ashes stronger than ever — and many analysts are scrambling to understanding why.

The general answer for the cryptocurrency’s rise is that BTC has simply matured as an asset.



Bitcoin started as a cryptocurrency plagued with accusations of it being related to ‘organized crime.’ However, in the past few years, this impression has changed drastically.

Indexica has outlined three major factors which might explain the famous cryptocurrency’s current upward momentum.

• Conversations surrounding Bitcoin have become more complex. Key industry players have changed their opinions. According to Indexica, more academics and financial experts have been talking about BTC than ever before.
• Fear over it being a ‘scam’ have waned. Bitcoin clearly did not die after its price collapse in 2017 — which indicated to many its longevity. The fact that only one percent of Bitcoin’s transactions can be related to criminality according to Chainalysis indicates that its association with crime has all but disappeared. That’s good news for long-term growth.
• Future-oriented discussions on Bitcoin are becoming more common. Interestingly, Indexica has found that — based on its ‘futurity metric’ — the conversation surrounding Bitcoin has shifted. Rather than it being talked about in the past tense, April was a notable point when discussions on BTC began to be overwhelmingly future-oriented. The excitement over the future indicates strong momentum moving forward, evidenced by Indexica’s collected data.

These positive indicators tell us that Bitcoin has effectively matured as an asset. Trust is building. That’s likely one of the major reasons why it has surged nearly 60 percent from around $5,000 on April 15 to its current price of $7200 at the time of writing.


source: https://beincrypto.com/bitcoin-bulls-highest-consumer-sentiment/