âAny number of catalysts could send bitcoin exploding higher,’ says blockchain venture capitalist

âAny number of catalysts could send bitcoin exploding higher,' says blockchain venture capitalist

‘Any number of catalysts could send bitcoin exploding higher,' says blockchain venture capitalist

Bitcoin trading at about $8,200 as of the earlier hours of Thursday.
Blockchain venture capitalist Spencer Bogart says many things could cause the coin to gain value — or fall — rapidly.
"Bitcoin is kind of a tinderbox right now, waiting for reasons to go higher," he says.

Bitcoin has seen strong gains over the last week — trading at about $8,200 as of the earlier hours of Thursday.

But the largest digital currency by market cap still isn't close to its December, 2017 high of $19,783.21. Now, market watchers are waiting in anticipation for the next jump — or decline.

"Any number of catalysts could send bitcoin exploding higher," Spencer Bogart, a partner at Blockchain Capital, told CNBC on "Fast Money" Wednesday.

Those catalysts include global trade tensions, the possibility of a bitcoin ETF, rising currency rates and Mastercard's recent announcement of a new patent that could allow bitcoin transactions on credit cards.

"Bitcoin is kind of a tinderbox right now, waiting for reasons to go higher," said the venture capitalist.

In May, even as bitcoin continued to fall, Bogart said it was the only digital coin worth buying, as more banks and large institutions were beginning to accept the coin, and urged long-term investors to get on board.

Other cryptocurrencies, he said, were "over-promising and under-delivering. Meanwhile you have a few that are kind of excelling at their use cases. Bitcoin being one of them." He said bitcoin, which was priced around $7,400 at the time, would likely go lower before hitting at least $10,000 by the end of 2018. The coin fell below $6,000 the following month.

On Wednesday, Bogart said bitcoin may have hit its bottom for the year, but that he was "definitely expecting to see new highs" and told investors to expect more regulatory approval of the space in the coming year.

"The cat’s already out of the bag," Bogart said, adding that "innovation is going elsewhere if the SEC doesn’t get on board soon."

Author Kellie Ell |

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin Elliott Wave Analysis – Close to Ending 5 Waves

Bitcoin Elliott Wave Analysis - Close to Ending 5 Waves

Bitcoin Elliott Wave Analysis – Close to Ending 5 Waves

Bitcoin Ticker symbol: $BTCUSD short-term Elliott wave analysis suggests that the decline to $6072 low ended Minor wave 2 pullback. The internals of that pullback unfolded as Elliott wave Flatcorrection where Minute wave ((a)) ended in 3 swing at $6445.31 low. Minute wave ((b)) bounce ended in 3 swing at $6820 high and Minute wave ((c)) ended in 5 waves structure at $6072 low.

Above from there, the Bitcoin’s rally to $7696.88 high ended Minor wave 3. The internals of that rally higher unfolded as Elliott wave impulse structure where Minute wave ((i)) ended in 5 waves at $6337.25, Minute wave ((ii)) ended at $6121.01, Minute wave ((iii)) ended in 5 waves at $7599.98, Minute wave ((iv)) ended at $7338.91 and Minute wave ((v)) of 3 ended at $7696.88 high.Down from there, the pullback to 7253.21 low ended Minor wave 4.

The rally higher in Minor wave 5 is nesting higher as impulse structure looking to extend higher 1 more time approximately towards $8678.62 0.764% Fibonacci extension area of Minor 1+3 to end the Minor wave 5. The move higher should also complete cycle from 6/29 low in intermediate wave (A) of a possible Zigzag structure. Afterward, the instrument is expected to do a pullback in intermediate wave (B) in 3, 7 or 11 swings to correct cycle from 6/29 low before another extension higher in intermediate wave (C) is seen. We don’t like selling it.

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

BITCOIN BEARISH TREND MAY BE OVER VERY SOON

Trends tend to be reversed. The year of 2018 has seen Bitcoin (BTC) demonstrate both its volatility and bearish nature. However, the second half of 2017 the crypto community witnessed the exact opposite. What does the remainder for 2018 have in store?

BITCOIN LAST WEEK

Bitcoin’s price $6287.77 +0.18% bounced around due to FUD regarding a hack on Binance and positive news about Coinbase’s announcement of Coinbase Custody. Launching the service was great for the crypto-community because institutional capital will now have an easier route to enter the market.

This will not only bring more legitimacy to the market, but it also helps boost prices through increased demand. Unfortunately, right after Coinbase’s positive announcement, FUD came out of every corner of the crypto-communities reporting channels of a hack on Binance. While there was an unethical trading strategy going on with the SYS token, it was not an actually a hack and funds were ‘safu.’

Binance came out of the FUD unscathed as they were not at fault as they handled the situation as proactively as could be expected. Even so, whenever there is wide-spread news of a hack on a large exchange, the public sentiment rapidly plummets along with the price of Bitcoin.

That is where Bitcoin started this week. While the trend analysis tools leaned towards the bearish market ending, it may, unfortunately, be deciding to stay bearish until early August.

THIS WEEK

The cryptocurrency market had lost twenty-two billion USD in valuation (across all cryptocurrencies) as Bitcoin dropped to under $6,400. Frequently, when such a bear market trend begins to show, a corrective rally comes stampeding through the market. However, this was not the case this week.

Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has not shown any positive momentum that would foreshadow such a corrective rally. On July 10, Ethereum $437.501 +0.38% had an exceptionally large drop, dropping more than five percent of its value against the US dollar.

While most cryptocurrencies, both large and small hard caps, tend to follow Bitcoin’s current trend, the current drop in the value of ETH may not be correlated to Bitcoin as ETH has other issues going on. (MyEtherWallet (MEW) and the Bancor scandal).

While this negative news pertained more to Ethereum than it did to Bitcoin, the mainstream public tends to look at the entire crypto-market as one. When one large crypto has negative news, it impacts the entire industry.

AN OPTIMISTIC FUTURE

Blockchain technology is continuing to show an increasing amount of societal applications and more countries are continuing to adapt to this evolving technological world we are living in today. Positive events and news continue to emerge discussing the regulatory infrastructure surrounding cryptocurrencies in leading markets and countries like South Korea, Japan, and many more. Recently, South Korea acknowledged that both cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies are legitimate industries.

Major exchanges in the United States, such as Coinbase, have established solutions to allow institutional investors a smoother way of entering the crypto-market. Coinbase has over twenty billion dollars in cryptocurrencies on its exchange and a user base of over twenty million on its platform. After seeing the profits in the market, these giants likely to join the market and pump their financial resources into the crypto-industry.

As Conbase’s Custody service just launched last week, the vast amounts of institutional money have not had the time to enter the market yet, and therefore, the market has not shown a reaction from a massive flow of incoming capital.

However, the most important date in the upcoming three months for the entire crypto space is pegged for the SEC hearing on Bitcoin ETFs scheduled for mid-August.

The CBOE applied to allow ETFs entrance into purchasing BTC directly (this is vastly different than future contracts). When the CBOE received approval to begin trading futures contracts of BTC last year BTC ended its bear market and rallied from under $2,000 to $20,000.

The SEC has denied every application for ETF market entrants for the prior 8 years. If they approve the CBOE (which should be expected given the CBOE has met the stringent requirements set forth by the SEC), it is likely the same trend from last year occurs.

The SEC has denied prior ETF applicants due to their lack of insurance and lack of infrastructure, the CBOE has met both these requirements. If the SEC were to approve a party to begin ETF purchasing of crypto, whom better than the CBOE? The bear market should begin to rebound due to ETFs entering the crypto market, along with hundreds of billions of dollars in institutional money.

While the crypto-community wants to see a rebound and there are many reasons to be optimistic, the market is still showing a strong bearish trend. The continued positive global awareness and acceptance will lead to more successful projects and decentralized applications stemming from the blockchain community, which will result in a rising Bitcoin value.

As more and more cryptos prove to be secure, transparent and successful, there will likely be a rally in the next few months. Experts predict that this rally will not happen until the fourth quarter of 2018 unless the SEC does approve ETF entrance into the crypto space (which if I were a betting man, I’d say the CBOE meets the stringent SEC requirements).

JAKETHECRYPTOKING · @JBTHECRYPTOKING | JUL 14, 2018 | 17:00

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

ZCASH Mining 400% More Profitable Than Bitcoin (BTC)

ZCASH Mining 400% More Mrofitable Than Bitcoin (BTC)

Zcash (ZEC) is currently the most profitable cryptocurrency for those into crypto mining, with a Return of Investment that far outperforms any other token in the market, including those cryptos with the largest market cap such as BTC, ETH or BCH.

Miners to turn off equipment in Crypto HourAccording to data provided by Anything Crypto, Zcash miners using an Antminer Z9 Mini can expect a return on investment of almost 100% even in the most skeptical scenarios.

To put the calculations in perspective, the second most profitable crypto is Ether. Mining it with an Antminer E3 would yield a return of $1212 in one year, which represents a 151 ROI given that the miner has a cost of $800. The Z9 Mini which costs USD 2k would generate USD 6881, resulting in a 344% profit. Such figures depict the most optimistic scenarios.

The calculations made by anything crypto provide 3 different situation

A current scenario: In which there is absolutely no change. It is taken for reference purposes
An optimistic scenario: 15% difficulty increase monthly and a 10% price increase monthly
A pessimistic scenario: 40% difficulty increase monthly8% price increase monthly

Zcash: A Nice Opportunity

The mining of cryptocurrencies began as a hobby for enthusiasts, however, after the exponential increase in its use, it became increasingly lucrative to the point of becoming one of the business par excellence in the world of cryptocurrencies, competing directly with trading.

The PoW coin mining business has specific particularities that must be taken into account when investing in an ASIC or Mining Rig. The first of these is the mining difficulty.

The difficulty makes it possible to establish certain stability in the cryptocurrency avoiding an excessive number of block validations to decrease the value of the tokens or a lack of validation, which is equally damaging.

When the speed of validtions increases, the blockchain algorithm increases its difficulty, making it necessary to work harder to “mine” a block. The same is right in the opposite case.

This is the reason for the different scenarios put forward by Everything Crypto. But in all of them – at least for now – Zcash is the winner regarding profits.

For those who have a preference for BTC, the most profitable ASIC is the GMO B2 while for ETH it is worth buying an Antminer E3. Interestingly, the Antminer S9, Bitmain ranks 8 flagship team while its improved version, the S9i is ranked 6th.

By Jose Antonio Lanz Last updated Jul 14, 2018

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis: Range-Bound Action?

Bitcoin is consolidating at the middle of its range in what seems to be a continuation signal.

BITCOIN PRICE ANALYSIS

Bitcoin has found support at the $5,800 handle and resistance at $6,800 but is currently sitting right at the middle. Price seems to be stuck in a bearish flag, which is often considered a continuation signal.

In that case, bitcoin could tumble back to the bottom of its range to test support before buyers return. The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA after all, so the path of least resistance might be to the downside. In addition, both moving averages appear to have held as dynamic resistance levels.

However, the gap between the moving averages has narrowed to signal weakening bearish pressure and a potential upward crossover. In that case, bullish momentum could return and push bitcoin price back to the resistance.

Pic

In that case, the inverse head and shoulders could be completed and a break past the range resistance or neckline could spur an even longer-term rally.

RSI reached oversold levels and has started to pull up, also hinting at a return in bullish momentum. Stochastic just made its way to oversold territory and has yet to turn higher.

Bitcoin is on the back foot once more, erasing almost half the gains posted in the previous week on negative commentary and overall risk aversion. Trade tensions are worsening, boosting demand for the safe-haven dollar even as retaliatory measures could hurt its economy.

Hawkish commentary from Fed official Evans also helped shore up demand for the dollar as he expressed support for two more hikes this year, after previously dissenting the December 2017 hike. This also supported investor confidence that the US economy can weather any uncertainties from trade troubles as Evans acknowledged the strong support from fiscal policy.

Traders are now holding out for further catalysts, whether it be more negative remarks that push it back down or positive developments in the industry.

By Rachel Lee On Jul 12, 2018

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin is the best bet for cryptocurrency investors, says Wall Street trader

Bitcoin, with its established use cases, is still the best bet for investors, says Bart Smith of Susquehanna International Group.
The Wall Street crypto trader says bitcoin is the currency of the internet.

Bitcoin is still the best bet for crypto investors as people are "functionally using" it, Bart Smith told CNBC.

"If you want to own the asset that you can actually use today and that people are functionally using, it’s bitcoin," Smith, head of digital asset at trading giant Susquehanna International Group, said on "Fast Money" Tuesday.

"The use case for bitcoin is valid today, which is the currency of the internet," he added.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been just one of many digital coins in the crypto universe that has been under increased scrutiny in recent months as regulators try to determine how cryptocurrency should be used.

But the fact that bitcoin has established use cases is what gives it the competitive advantage over other cryptocurrencies, Smith said.

Last fall, when bitcoin futures were announced, "people got very excited about bitcoin," he said. "They got really excited about all these other tokens and use cases. And all of the sudden you saw all of these smaller tokens, as people got excited about them, massively outperform. We got way ahead of ourselves."

"If you’re looking at these other use cases, smart contracts, or lightning network or these different technological advancements, I think people are coming to realize, those things are very difficult and aren’t coming anytime soon," Smith said.

He pointed out that a lot of people work in one country and send money back to a different country — a situation that is very bitcoin-friendly.

"They use Western Union, traditional banks; It is slow and it is expensive," he said. "And there are people that can stop you from sending that money, whether that's good or bad. With bitcoin, I can send money. It's fast. It's cheap. And frankly, no one can stop me."

Bitcoin was priced around $6,300 Tuesday evening, 5:30 p.m. ET. Bitcoin fell below $6,000 in June — a 60 percent loss for 2018. At its high, in December 2017, it was priced around $19,500.

Author Kellie Ell

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Ascending Channel Below Major Support

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

Bitcoin price has formed higher lows and found resistance at the $6,785 level to create an ascending triangle.
Price is testing the pattern’s resistance, which lines up with the broken long-term support visible on the 4-hour chart.
Technical indicators are suggesting that the ceiling could hold for now.

Bitcoin price is testing the top of its ascending triangle pattern, but technical indicators suggest resistance might hold.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still below the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside. This means that the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse or that resistance is more likely to hold than to break. With that, bitcoin price might need to revisit the triangle support before attempting another break.

Then again, it’s worth noting that bitcoin price is already trading above the moving averages, which reflects a pickup in bullish pressure. The gap between the moving averages is narrowing so selling pressure is slowing. A break past the triangle top could lead to a move of around $1,000 or the same height as the chart pattern.

RSI is turning lower to indicate a return in selling pressure, possibly enough to take bitcoin back down for a test of the short-term floor, which is also near the 100 SMA dynamic inflection point. Stochastic is also pointing back down without even hitting overbought conditions, which could also mean that bears are eager to return.

Market Factors

Bitcoin price has had quite a good run in the earlier week, which reflects a pickup in industry optimism. However, it could all hinge on whether or not the mood is sustained this week, likely by a set of positive updates or no negative headlines.

Meanwhile, the dollar could take its cue from the US CPI report and the usual set of trade war updates. A positive performance in stock markets, however, could also draw traders back to traditional markets and away from bitcoin.

SARAH JENN | JULY 9, 2018 | 5:00 AM

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis – Next Potential Ceilings

Bitcoin previously broke below a symmetrical triangle and might be due for a retest.

BITCOIN PRICE ANALYSIS

Bitcoin was moving south since breaking below the bottom of a long-term symmetrical triangle. Price has been climbing recently and might be due for a pullback to the former support area.

Applying the Fibonacci retracement tool on the latest swing low and high shows that the 50% level lines up with the broken triangle support. This is also close to the 100 SMA dynamic inflection point.

On the subject of moving averages, the 100 SMA is safely below the longer-term 200 SMA to confirm that the path of least resistance is to the downside. In other words, the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse.

RSI is still heading north so bitcoin could follow suit until the oscillator reaches overbought conditions and turns lower. Stochastic is closer to the overbought region and might reflect bullish exhaustion soon. In that case, the 38.2% Fib might already be enough to keep gains in check and push bitcoin back to the swing low.

A larger correction, on the other hand, could find its way up to the 61.8% Fib at $8,400. A move past that area and the 200 SMA could be enough to confirm that bulls have the upper hand.

Bitcoin is holding on to its positive start this quarter, although many still have doubts that the rallies could be sustained. For one, this could be a much-needed relief rally from the earlier decline and investors are simply holding out for the next set of catalysts.

In the meantime, the spotlight could shift to the US dollar as the FOMC will release the minutes of its latest meeting ahead of the NFP report. Hawkish expectations could drive the dollar higher across the board while downbeat data could leave bitcoin poised to take advantage.

Apart from that, any headlines pertaining to stricter regulation or another security incident on an exchange could revive the declines in bitcoin.

By Rachel Lee On Jul 5, 2018

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis – Short-Term Bullish Signals

Bitcoin has formed a double bottom and bullish flag on the 1-hour chart.

BITCOIN PRICE ANALYSIS

Bitcoin could be done with its slide as price formed a double bottom on the 1-hour time frame. Price also seems to have broken past the neckline around $6,400 to confirm that a reversal is underway.

Price is consolidating inside a bullish flag for now, though, but this is often considered a continuation signal. The mast of the flag spans $5,800 to $6,500 so the resulting climb could be of the same height. This would also be roughly the same size as the double bottom reversal formation.

The 100 SMA is crossing above the longer-term 200 SMA to signal that the path of least resistance is to the upside. In other words, the rally is more likely to gain traction than to retreat from here. Price has moved past the moving averages to indicate a pickup in buying pressure as well.

RSI appears to be on the move down, though, so some selling pressure could return. Stochastic is also hesitating on its climb so bitcoin could follow suit. In that case, a quick pullback to the moving averages’ dynamic inflection points around $6,200 could ensue before more bulls join in.

Bitcoin is off to a positive start so far this month and quarter, reviving investor confidence that the cryptocurrency could end up positive for the year. A co-founder of a bitcoin exchange even noted that we’ve seen these price dips before and that bitcoin is on track to reach $50,000 by the end of the year.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes cited:

“We could definitely find a bottom in the $3,000 to $5,000 range. But we’re one positive regulatory decision away, many an ETF approved by the SEC, to climbing through $20,000 and even to $50,000 by the end of the year.”

He also added that the time between a bear market and bull market could shorten, given how more people are talking about bitcoin thanks to its increased visibility.

By Rachel Lee On Jul 2, 2018

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin and a new Quarter â More of the Same

Bitcoin and a new Quarter – More of the Same?

Following a solid couple of days to limit the losses for the 2nd quarter, it’s back in the red for Bitcoin at the start of the 3rd, with uncertainty continuing to pin back any meaningful rally.

Bitcoin gained 2.95% on Saturday, following Friday’s 6.12% rally, to end the day at $6,391.6, taking Bitcoin to a 3.96% gain for the current week.

Friday’s late in the day rally spilled over to the early hours of Saturday morning, leading Bitcoin through the day’s first major resistance level at $6,413.4 to a morning high $6,545.5 before easing back to hover at around $6,400 levels.

Following Bitcoin’s start of the day bounce from an intraday low $6,195.2 that left the first major support level at $5,891.4 untested, it was a relatively range bound day, with a second half of the day pullback seeing Bitcoin fall to an afternoon low $6,313.8 before recovering to the morning ranges.

For the Bitcoin bulls, the moves through the day, in response to the start of the day rally, will have given some confidence, with Bitcoin proving to be far more resilient than its peers during the sell-offs, supporting the stronger gains through the week.

There was no particularly positive news to support Saturday’s consolidative gains, with investors eyeing sub-$6,000 levels as a good entry price, in spite of calls of sub-$5,000 levels before any meaningful recovery can begin, all of which is ultimately hinged on the regulatory frameworks that are due to be rolled out in key jurisdictions over the summer.

For the Bitcoin bulls, while the resilience in the 2nd half of the week will have been a positive, the reality is that the extended bearish trend, formed at 5th May’s swing hi $9,999, remains firmly intact, with Bitcoin needing to break through the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level at $6,757 to begin forming a near-term bullish trend.

The last time Bitcoin broke through the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level was on 11th June, with the bearish trend having seen Bitcoin strike a number of swing lo prices since.

Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 0.69% to $6,347.2 in what’s been another range bound start to the day, relative to the broader market.

A start of the day $6,439.9 high fell short of the first major resistance level at $6,559.67, with an early morning $6,322.9 low holding well above the first major support level at $6,209.37, as Saturday’s consolidation saw Bitcoin steer clear of sub-$6,000 levels for the first time in 4-days.

For the day ahead, a move back through the morning’s $6,439.9 high would support a run at $6,500 levels and the day’s first major resistance level at $6,559.67, though Bitcoin will need to break back through $6,400 levels that may provide stern resistance should a rally not kick in later in the morning.

Failure to take a run at $6,500 levels to bring the day’s first major resistance level into play could see Bitcoin catch up with the broader market to bring the day’s first major support level at $6,209.37 into play before any recovery, the day’s second major support level at $6,027.13 and sub-$6,000 support levels likely to be left untested through the day.

With Bitcoin ending the month of June down 14.6%, things could have been much worse considering the length of the extended bearish trend, which may provide some degree of comfort to the cryptomarket, though until the regs are rolled out, the uncertainty of what lies ahead will remain a factor that will likely pin Bitcoin back from any meaningful rally near-term.

Bob Mason 32 minutes ago

David Ogden – Http://markethive.com/david-ogden