Russian Regulators Find Common Ground — Bitcoin Can’t Be Used for Payments

Russian authorities are yet to reach full consensus on the future of cryptocurrencies but government institutions are on the same side of the fence in their intention to ban bitcoin payments. Other operations with digital assets are to be legalized and regulated, representatives of Russian business have revealed.

Russian Central Bank, Finance Ministry Agree to Prohibit Crypto Payments

The Central Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance and the government have converged on the question of how to regulate Russia’s crypto space. Decentralized digital currencies will not be accepted as a means of payment, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shokhin told reporters following a meeting devoted to digitalization.

Last month, Bank of Russia urged for a wide-ranging ban of crypto-related activities, including their use in payments, exchange and mining. The hardline policy proposal was met with opposition from other institutions, including the finance ministry which came up with its own vision of how cryptocurrencies should be treated. Siding with the treasury’s stance, the federal government adopted a plan which favors regulation over prohibition.

“It is already clear that both sides in this discussion have generally come closer. In particular, if we are talking about prohibitions, then that is rather about a ban on the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment, while other aspects are subject to regulation,” Shokhin was quoted as saying by the daily Izvestia. According to the government-approved regulatory concept, coins can be bought, exchanged, and sold, the report notes

Vladimir Potanin, co-chairman of RSPP’s Coordinating Council and president of Nornickel, noted that the regulatory bodies are still seeking agreement on the details of Russia’s crypto framework but he emphasized that all of them support a ban on the use of cryptocurrency as a legal tender.

“The business community has reached an understanding with the government, the central bank and lawmakers that cryptocurrencies are more complicated and difficult to regulate than digital financial assets,” the billionaire elaborated, quoted by Forklog.

While regulating certain aspects of the crypto economy such as the issuance of tokens, the Russian law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January of last year, left many unanswered questions. A working group at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, is now preparing legislation to fill the gaps.

A new law introducing comprehensive rules for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia, based on the finance ministry’s proposals, is expected by Feb. 18. Earlier this week, the chairman of the Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov announced that a draft is already on his desk. Deputies plan to adopt it during the spring session of the Duma.

Do you expect Russia to regulate cryptocurrencies by the parliament’s summer recess? Tell us in the comments section below

Canadian Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Encourage Crypto Sector Growth

A bill has been introduced in Canada to encourage the growth of the crypto sector. “Canada should be attracting billions of dollars in investment in the fast growing crypto asset industry. Today I introduced a bill, the first of its kind in Canada, to make sure this becomes a reality,” said the parliament member who introduced the bill.

Bill to Grow Crypto Sector Launched in Canada

Canadian parliament member Michelle Rempel Garner introduced “Bill C-249” on Wednesday, which “may be cited as the Encouraging the Growth of the Cryptoasset Sector Act,” according to the text of the bill.

Conservative MP Garner tweeted:

Canada should be attracting billions of dollars in investment in the fast growing crypto asset industry. Today I introduced a bill, the first of its kind in Canada, to make sure this becomes a reality.

The bill requires Canada’s minister of finance “to develop a national framework to encourage the growth of the cryptoasset sector.” In addition, it requires the minister “to consult with persons working in the sector.”

The lawmaker explained that government officials are discussing and setting policies on crypto assets. However, she pointed out that many lawmakers are not deeply familiar with what crypto assets are, how they function, or their big potential for economic growth.

“To be a world leader, Canada needs to make sure crypto asset experts and investors are telling us what policies they need, or what policies they don’t need,” she emphasized. “This bill requires the minister of finance to formally ensure that their voices help lead policy development.”

The bill details:

Within three years after the day on which this Act comes into force, the minister must prepare a report setting out the framework and must cause the report to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is completed.

According to the website set up to explain the legislation, the bill does not establish any particular policy for the regulation of cryptocurrency. “Instead, this bill creates a mechanism to formally engage the expertise of cryptoasset talent in policy development so that their voices lead the way. It ensures that the experts have a say in what policy they need, or don’t need,” the website describes.

What do you think about this bill? Let us know in the comments section below.

13 Years Ago Today, Satoshi Nakamoto Published the First Forum Post Introducing Bitcoin

13 years ago today, the creator of the Bitcoin network, Satoshi Nakamoto published the inventor’s first forum post on the P2P Foundation website. The forum post called “Bitcoin open source implementation of P2P currency” introduced the e-cash system to the members of the advocacy and research forum focused on peer-to-peer dynamics in society.

The First of 3 February 2009 Forum Posts Introducing Bitcoin

There was three occasions in February 2009 when Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the inventor’s Bitcoin white paper and open source codebase to the P2P Foundation forum members. The occasion on February 11, 2009, was the first time the creator of Bitcoin publicly announced the project using the P2P Foundation forum. Prior to these instances during the month of February, Nakamoto leveraged the email system tethered to the cryptography mailing list hosted on metzdowd.com.

On February 11, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto published the first introductory forum post about the Bitcoin network.

The introductory forum post is quite fascinating, and the inventor also leaves a link to the software’s first version on the forum as well. “I’ve developed a new open source P2P e-cash system called Bitcoin,” Nakamoto wrote 13 years ago today. “It’s completely decentralized, with no central server or trusted parties, because everything is based on crypto proof instead of trust. Give it a try, or take a look at the screenshots and design paper,” the creator added.

Nakamoto is extremely descriptive in the first forum post, and Bitcoin’s inventor explains the issue with conventional currencies. “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work,” Nakamoto wrote that day. “The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve.”

Bitcoin’s inventor further stressed:

Nakamoto Responds: ‘I Think This Is the First Time We’re Trying a Decentralized, Non-Trust-Based System’

Anyone who reads the first forum post Satoshi wrote, can understand that the inventor is trying to get the word out, so more people can test the Bitcoin network during the earliest days. Nakamoto’s forum post did not get a reply until the very next day, as an individual named Sepp Hasslberger was the first to respond to Nakamoto’s first P2P Foundation thread.

“Great stuff,” Hasslberger wrote at the time. “This is the first real innovation in money since the Bank of England started to issue its promissory notes for gold in the vaults, which then became known as banknotes. I believe an open source currency has great potential. A bit like Google becoming the default search engine for many of us,” Hasslberger added. A few other individuals in the post talked about “old Chaumian central stuff” and e-currency projects such as e-gold that failed in the past.

Satoshi responded to a few questions in the thread and noted that the “old Chaumian central mint stuff,” was the only thing available at the time. Bitcoin’s inventor reminded the P2P Foundation members that the Bitcoin protocol was decentralized and different. “A lot of people automatically dismiss e-currency as a lost cause because of all the companies that failed since the 1990’s,” Nakamoto replied to one of the thread’s responses on February 15, 2009. “I hope it’s obvious it was only the centrally controlled nature of those systems that doomed them. I think this is the first time we’re trying a decentralized, non-trust-based system,” the cryptocurrency’s creator added.

On February 18, Nakamoto came back to the thread to answer multiple questions asked by inquisitive Sepp Hasslberger at the time. In response to Hasslberger’s questions, Nakamoto laid out three interesting features the Bitcoin network showcased and insisted that the coins would be scarce. Nakamoto said:

It is a global distributed database, with additions to the database by consent of the majority, based on a set of rules they follow: [One] — Whenever someone finds proof-of-work to generate a block, they get some new coins. [Two] — The proof-of-work difficulty is adjusted every two weeks to target an average of 6 blocks per hour (for the whole network). [Three] — The coins given per block is cut in half every 4 years — You could say coins are issued by the majority. They are issued in a limited, predetermined amount.

It’s safe to say that Satoshi Nakamoto’s e-cash system caught on and after 13 years, 18,954,937 bitcoins have been issued out of the maximum supply of 21 million so far. Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization is currently worth more than $800 billion and since its inception on January 3, 2009, the network has been functional with a 99.98713391230% uptime rating. Nakamoto’s invention has also sparked the creation of thousands of crypto coins, and today there’s 12,523 crypto assets within the crypto economy.

What do you think about the first forum post written by Satoshi Nakamoto on the P2P Foundation forum? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Volatility Continues Heading Into the Weekend

Following a strong start to the week, crypto markets are submerged under a red wave as we head into the weekend. Bitcoin and ethereum are both lower, giving up some of this week’s gains in the process.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin followed up Thursday’s volatile session with even more uncertainty today, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency was once again falling.

Following a rise to $45,101.17 yesterday, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $42,864.32 earlier in today’s session, as it appeared that bears were pushing prices towards support.

The selloff started after resistance of $44,750 was held during yesterday’s session, with bears piling in, in order to short bitcoin.

This comes as the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) has flatlined, and is currently tracking at 60, which is still overbought.

BTC/USD could go either way, depending on how momentum begins to mature.

As constructed, the short-term ten-day (red) moving average still looks to be bullish, helped by the current ascending triangle which has formed in recent weeks.

Bulls will now likely wait to see if this will be enough to inspire fellow buyers to re-enter.

Ethereum

Ethereum is trading close to 5% lower as of writing, as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency looks set for consolidation.

ETH/USD fell to an intraday low of $3,018.56 on Friday, which is the lowest price ETH has hit this week.

This selloff from resistance of $3,285 pushed ethereum marginally below its recent support level of $3,022, however, the move appears to be a false break.

Recent momentum shows that prices are hitting a streak of higher highs, as seen by the ascending triangle, however a wall seems to have been hit, stopping further progression..

Could bulls use today’s low as a chance to “buy the dip”? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

JPMorgan Predicts Long-Term Bitcoin Price of $150K — Outlines Challenges Ahead

Global investment bank JPMorgan has predicted that the long-term price of bitcoin will reach $150K while the fair value of the cryptocurrency sits at $38K. “The biggest challenge for bitcoin going forward is its volatility and the boom and bust cycles that hinder further institutional adoption,” JPMorgan’s analysts explained.

JPMorgan’s Bitcoin Price Prediction

Global investment bank JPMorgan has revealed its prediction for the long-term price of bitcoin as well as the cryptocurrency’s fair value.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s strategists, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, wrote in a research note published Tuesday that their long-term theoretical target for bitcoin is $150K, up from $146K predicted last year.

At this level, bitcoin’s total market value would be on par with that of all gold held privately for investment purposes, they explained.

The analysts clarified that bitcoin’s “fair value” is around $38K, up from $35K estimated last year.

They calculated the coin’s fair value based on bitcoin being roughly four times as volatile as gold, adding that if the volatility differential narrows to three times, then the fair value of BTC would rise to $50K.

The JPMorgan strategists wrote:

The JPMorgan strategists wrote:

The biggest challenge for bitcoin going forward is its volatility and the boom and bust cycles that hinder further institutional adoption.

At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $43,855 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. BTC is up almost 19% over the past seven days and almost 5% in the last 30 days.

Meanwhile, a JPMorgan client survey shows that the majority of respondents expect bitcoin’s price to reach $60K or more this year. The firm currently offers some crypto investments to clients.

Nonetheless, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon continues to warn people about investing in crypto, citing that the assets have no intrinsic value. He called bitcoin worthless in October last year, questioning its limited supply.

What do you think about JPMorgan’s bitcoin price prediction? Let us know in the comments section below.

$3.6B in Bitcoin Linked to 2016 Bitfinex Hack Recovered

Cryptocurrency worth $3.6 billion has been recovered by the U.S. Justice Department — its biggest financial seizure on record.

The digital assets have been directly linked to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, when coins now worth $4.5 billion were stolen.

Two people have been arrested in Manhattan on suspicion of attempting to launder the stolen funds.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said the successful operation shows "cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals," adding:

"In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions. Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes."

Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan are accused of conspiring to launder the proceeds of 119,754 BTC.

Court documents claimed that a hacker had managed to infiltrate Bitfinex's systems — initiating over 2,000 unauthorized transactions in the process. Stolen Bitcoin was subsequently sent to a digital wallet that Lichtenstein allegedly controlled.

An investigation suggests that 25,000 BTC was moved through a "complicated money laundering scheme" over the past five years — and some of the proceeds wound up in financial accounts that both Lichtenstein and Morgan controlled.

Court-authorized search warrants of their online accounts later uncovered private keys to the digital wallet where 94,000 BTC taken from Bitfinex all those years ago was stored.

'Criminals Always Leave Tracks'

Detectives described the defendants' techniques for laundering the crypto as "methodical and calculated." As well as relying on fictitious identities, funds were mixed through crypto exchanges and darknet markets — all with a view to obscuring transaction histories and throwing law enforcement agencies off the scent. Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a news release:

"Cryptocurrency and the virtual currency exchanges trading in it comprise an expanding part of the U.S. financial system, but digital currency heists executed through complex money laundering schemes could undermine confidence in cryptocurrency."

The charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. collectively carry a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars.

About a week ago, WhaleAlert had detected that 94,643 BTC from the wallet linked to the Bitfinex hack had moved — in regular tranches of 10,000 BTC.

The hack has gone down in history as one of the biggest to affect a crypto exchange — and at the time, Bitcoin's value plunged from $600 to $400.

Back in the summer of 2020, Bitfinex had announced that it was willing to offer up to $400 million if the funds were returned — and even said that it would allow the hackers to keep 25% of the stolen property as long as they returned the rest.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bitfinex said:

"We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has today announced that it has recovered a significant portion of the Bitcoin stolen during the August 2016 security breach. We have been cooperating extensively with the DoJ since its investigation began and will continue to do so."

It now plans to "follow appropriate legal processes to establish our rights to a return of the stolen Bitcoin."

El Salvador Furiously Refuses to Abandon Bitcoin

El Salvador has issued a more formal — and angry — response to the International Monetary Fund's pleas for the country to abandon Bitcoin as legal tender.

The Central American nation's treasury minister, Alejandro Zelaya, furiously told a local television channel:

"No international organization is going to make us do anything, anything at all … Countries are sovereign nations and they take sovereign decisions about public policy."

Zelaya went on to add that El Salvador has taken great care to ensure that BTC transactions comply with money laundering rules.

President Nayib Bukele has sparked controversy by investing public funds worth tens of millions of dollars into Bitcoin — and making purchases from his smartphone on a whim whenever the cryptocurrency's value falls.

Last week, the IMF said BTC's use creates "large risks" when it comes to "financial stability, financial integrity and consumer protection" — and warned that El Salvador's public debt is currently on an "unsustainable path."

Some of the recommendations made by the IMF include abandoning the reward of $30 in BTC that is given to Salvadoran consumers who download the Chivo digital wallet.

While the IMF concedes that the Chivo wallet could play a significant role in boosting financial inclusion — an estimated 70% of the country's citizens are unbanked — it wants the app to only facilitate transactions in U.S. dollars and not Bitcoin. A report added:

"In the near-term the actual costs of implementing Chivo and operationalizing the Bitcoin Law exceed potential benefits.".

Bukele Dismissive

With a high-profile Twitter account as his weapon — and 3.5 million followers to boot — Bukele has wasted little time in dismissing the IMF's concerns, and challenging other critics such as the Bank of England.

When the IMF's warning first came to light, he simply responded with a meme from The Simpsons. And in recent days, he's been doubling down on Bitcoin's potential:

"There are more than 50 million millionaires in the world. Imagine when one of them decides they should own at least ONE Bitcoin. But there will ever be only 21 million Bitcoin. Not enough for even half of them. A gigantic price increase is just a matter of time."

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC, ETH Consolidate After Monday’s Surge

Crypto markets marginally consolidated on Tuesday, following yesterday’s price surge which saw bitcoin and ethereum both rally to multi-week highs. BTC climbed to $45,000, with ETH moving to $3,200.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin prices were marginally below yesterday’s high, as profit takers look to have closed some of their positions.

BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $45,293.87 during Monday’s session, however it’s tracking close to $43,354.61 today.

Yesterday’s move, which now looks like a false break, moved beyond its recent resistance of $43,770, en route to its highest point since January 5.

The moving averages of 10-days (red) and 25 days (blue) have crossed over on the upside, which many believe shows that the momentum may continue to surge until a true resistance is found.

Should we see another swing, many could see this resistance as being close to the $50,000 level, which hasn’t been hit since late December.

As of writing, prices have continued to fall, with a doji being formed in today’s chart.

Ethereum

Following an intraday high of $3,219.47 on Monday, which was a three-week high, ETH was also consolidating during today’s session.

As of writing, ETH/USD fell to a low of $3,062.51 on Tuesday, as bulls liquidated positions in the world’s second largest cryptocurrency.

Ethereum now sits marginally above its old resistance level at $3,022, which seems to be forming a new floor.

The 14-day RSI has also dropped below its resistance level of 56, and is currently tracking around 54.

Similar to BTC, moving averages have also experienced an upside cross, which may give long-term bulls the confidence to maintain positions, despite the current short-term volatility.

Will another ETH rally come this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: Bitcoin Hits $43,000 After Tesla Announcement

Following a strong weekend, bitcoin’s surge continued to start the week, as Tesla announced close to $2 billion worth of holdings in BTC. Overall, crypto markets were around 3% higher on Monday.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin, which consolidated for the majority of last week, moved closer to a three-week high today, climbing by as much as 3% as of writing.

BTC/USD rose to an intraday high above $43,500.00 during Monday’s session, as markets reacted to the news that Tesla currently holds $1.9 billion in bitcoin.

The move came as bitcoin marginally broke out of its resistance level of $42,060 for the first time since January 21.

As of writing, the RSI also climbed to a high point, tracking above its long-term ceiling of 60, which it last hit in mid-November.

Monday’s move has also led to a crossover of the 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages, which many long-term bulls have been waiting for.

Bulls may take this as a sign to add more upward pressure to prices, with some targeting $45,000 as the next point of profit taking.

Ethereum

ETH was also tracking at multi-week highs on Monday, as bulls continue to flock to the world’s second largest cryptocurrency.

As of writing, ETH/USD climbed to a high of $3,111.16 today, after trading at $2,965.43 less than 24-hours ago.

Overall, ethereum is up over 20% in the last week, coming as its 14-RSI broke beyond two key resistance levels in that time.

The first break came after a break above 44 on February 3, followed by Saturday’s surge above the 55 ceiling.

These moves have created a shift in both the 10-day and 25-day moving averages, which, similar to BTC, is set for a crossover.

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Research Firm Predicts Bitcoin Will Hit $200K in Second Half of 2022, ETH to Reach $12K

This week in a note to investors, Fsinsight, a Fundstrat company, said bitcoin could reach $200,000 during the second half of the year. In the investor’s note, Fsinsight’s head of digital asset strategy, Sean Farrell, said the parabolic growth would be due to “legacy market capital entering the fold.”

Fsinsight: ‘Bitcoin to Tap $200K in H2 2022, Ethereum Will Jump Close to 400%’

While last year’s $100K predictions went silent during the last month of 2021, bitcoin (BTC) price predictions are starting to appear again this year. According to the Fundstrat firm Fsinsight, BTC could increase by almost 500% from the current price point to around $200K per unit.

The BTC price prediction stems from Fsinsight and the firm’s head of digital asset strategy, Sean Farrell. Both Fsinsight and Fundstrat are bullish about the upside potential of crypto assets as Fundstrat Global Advisors’ head of research recently insisted bitcoin still has “exponential growth ahead” of it.

Fsinsight’s and Farrell’s investor’s note says times are different now that major businesses and “legacy market capital [is] entering the fold.” “This is much different from 2018 where tech stocks were still doing well but bitcoin sold off along with the rest of the crypto market cap,” Farrell explained. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve’s meeting in March as Fed chair Jerome Powell has hinted at raising benchmark interest rates.

Fsinsight’s prediction notes that U.S. policymakers could bring some downside to the leading crypto asset’s price growth. “All assets can sell off and drop another 50% if the Fed hikes 4% tomorrow or next month,” Farrell remarked in the note. “But right now, as things stand, the upside to both bitcoin and [ethereum] is much larger than the downside

Meanwhile, digital currency values have increased during the last week as bitcoin (BTC) has climbed over 12% and ethereum (ETH) jumped more than 13% over the last seven days. Fsinsight’s prediction also notes that ethereum has the potential to swell in USD value during the last half of 2022. Fsinsight’s investor’s note predicts ETH could climb close to 400% to around $12K per unit.

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What do you think about Fsinsight’s prediction about bitcoin and ethereum skyrocketing to new highs in H2 2022? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

TA: Bitcoin Bulls Keeps Pushing, Why Rally Isn’t Over Yet

Bitcoin settled above the $40,000 level against the US Dollar. BTC is now rising and could accelerate further above the $42,650 resistance zone.

• Bitcoin started a strong increase above the $40,000 resistance zone.
• The price is trading well above $40,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
• There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $41,600 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to rise if it clears the $42,650 resistance zone in the near term.

Bitcoin Price Gains Bullish Momentum

Bitcoin price started a major increase after there was a close above the $38,500 level. BTC gained bullish momentum and was able to surpass the $40,000 zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The upward move was such that the price even rallied above the $41,200 resistance. It traded as high as $42,694 and is currently consolidating gains. It seems like the price is preparing for the next move and trading well above the 100 hourly simple moving ave

Besides, there is key bullish trend line forming with support near $41,600 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair is also trading well above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $37,324 swing low to $42,694 high.

An immediate resistance is near the $42,650 level. The next major resistance is near the $43,200 zone. A clear upside break above the $43,200 resistance level could spark another increase. In the stated case, the price could even test the $45,000 resistance zone.

Dips Limited in BTC?

If bitcoin fails to start a fresh increase above $42,650, it could a downside correction. An immediate support on the downside is near the $41,600 zone. The first major support is seen near the $40,000 zone.

It is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $37,324 swing low to $42,694 high. Any more losses might call for a move towards the $39,500 support zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the bulls fail to protect $39,500, there could be a sharp decline in the near term.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $41,600, followed by $40,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $42,650, $43,200 and $45,000.

Bitcoin Beach wallet creator Galoy aims to replicate El Salvador project

Galoy, the startup that created the open-source, Lightning Network-compatible Bitcoin Beach wallet, recently completed a $3 million seed round to ramp up its operations and help bring its Bitcoin banking platform to more communities, businesses and governments. 

Miami-based Galoy, launched Bitcoin Beach as a proof-of-concept in the El Salvador surf town of El Zonte in October 2020. The wallet supports the local Bitcoin Beach project there, which has sought to create a bitcoin-based economy. The wallet has more than 6,000 users, according to Galoy’s website.

Bitcoin Beach is different than El Salvador’s state-backed wallet Chivo, which launched in September 2021, after a law making Bitcoin legal tender in the country went into force. Chivo is not open source.

Craft Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Trammell Venture Partners and Balaji Srinivasan participated in Galoy’s seed round, which was announced on December 15. Fulgur Ventures, Bitcoiner Ventures, Vijay Boyapati and Brad Mills also participated.

Galoy’s marketing director Andrew Begin told The Block in an interview that the company plans to use the funding to bring Galoy's open-source platform to a wider audience. He noted two, newer Bitcoin-based community projects in the region utilizing the wallet: Bitcoin Jungle in Costa Rica, which used Galoy’s open-source code to create their own wallet, and Bitcoin Lake in Guatemala is using the Bitcoin Beach wallet itself.

“We’re really scaling up from what started out as a proof-of-concept," said Begin. "The Bitcoin Beach wallet is being turned into its own company with local leadership,” he said. He did not name any specific companies or governments interested in using the wallet.

According to a press release from Galoy, its technology is designed to enable “any community, company or government to offer banking services using Bitcoin and Lightning.” The company says its open-source platform includes a backend API, point-of-sale apps, mobile wallets, compliance tools and administrative controls. It also offers what it calls "Banking-as-a-Service."

“Galoy is not in the business of being the bank — we want to provide the software, the infrastructure for others to repeat what we saw happen in El Zonte in El Salvador,” Begin continued. “So we’ll be scaling operations, team development, in order to really bring the platform to a broader audience to the right places around the world.”

Crypto Markets Rebound $130B: Bitcoin Recovers 5%, Shiba Inu Up 37% Since Yesterday’s Low

The crypto market has recovered more than $100 billion in a day with BTC standing at $36,000 and the alts…

After the two consecutive days of price slides, bitcoin has reclaimed some ground and stands around $36,000. The altcoins have reacted even better with notable double-digit price gains from Terra, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, and many others.

Bitcoin Stands at $36K

The past few days didn’t go all that well for the primary cryptocurrency. It was just on Thursday when a sudden price pump drove the asset to a multi-day high at $43,500.

However, this is where it all went south. Bitcoin started to dump in value rapidly and slumped to $38,000 a day later. This became the lowest price point since early August.

While this was a steep correction of its own, the bears only tightened their grip on the market. As a result, BTC dropped by another $4,000 and dipped to around $34,000. This, on the other hand, became the lowest price point since late July.

Since then, though, BTC added around $2,000 and now stands at $36,000. Nevertheless, its market capitalization is still well below $700 billion.

Altcoins With Impressive Recoveries

The altcoins suffered even more than BTC in the past few days with massive price drops. Now, though, most are well in the green on a daily scale.

Ethereum went down by roughly $1,000 in two days, bottoming at $2,300. Now, though, ETH has added more than $200 of value and sits above $2,500. More similar gains come from Ripple and Solana.

On the other hand, Binance Coin, Cardano, Polkadot, Dogecoin, and MATIC have recovered around 10% each. More gains come from Terra (20%), Avalanche (13%), and Shiba Inu (21%) on a daily scale. SHIB is up by approximately 40% since yesterday’s low, though.

Ultimately, the cryptocurrency market capitalization is up by $130 billion since yesterday’s low and is now at nearly $1.7 trillion.

Crypto Prices Drop After Russia Calls for Ban

The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped Friday (Jan. 21) following a sell-off in speculative assets amid the news of Russia’s call to ban crypto in that country.

As the Financial Times reports, the price of bitcoin fell as much as 7.4% against the dollar in Asian trading, while ether dropped nearly 9%, wiping away about $140 billion off the market capitalization for some of the market’s largest cryptocurrencies.

The bitcoin selloff picked up steam on Wall Street late Thursday after Netflix warned that it had seen flagging subscriber growth. Shares in the streaming giant dropped about 20% in pre-market Nasdaq trading Friday.

Andrew Sullivan, managing director at Outset Global in Hong Kong, told the Financial Times Asia was seeing “huge volumes going through in a number of markets as investors move to cash” on Friday, as technology shares in the region fell.

The price drop came one day after Russia’s central bank issued a report that compared cryptocurrencies to a pyramid scheme and rallied for their abolition.

The move made Russia — the world’s third largest crypto miner — the latest nation to propose either banning cryptocurrencies or imposing stricter regulations on the digital coins.

In its report, the Bank of Russia said the growth of cryptocurrency was driven primarily by speculative demand and could cause a market bubble that threatened financial stability.

The bank said financial institutions should be forbidden from carrying out operations using crypto and proposed a ban on crypto exchanges. The bank says Russians are active crypto users, buying and selling roughly $5 billion per year.

Also on Thursday (Jan. 20), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said cryptocurrency exchanges will be a chief focus of his agency this year.

“I’ve asked staff to look at every way to get these platforms inside the investor protection remit,” Gensler said. “If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable.”

Bitcoin Sinks Below $35,000 Overnight

The crypto crash worsened on Friday night. Now Bitcoin is on the way back up—was $34,420 the bottom?

Bitcoin continued to plunge overnight—briefly dropping below $35,000 to a low of $34,420 on CoinMarketCap—before beginning a slow rebound on Saturday morning. 

It's still down almost 10% over the past 24 hours, according to CMC, and is currently priced at just under $35,000.

Bitcoin's 24-hour low of $34,020.27 saw the cryptocurrency tumble to levels it hadn't previously touched for six months, back in July 2021. 

After hitting an all-time high on November 10 last year of $69k, Bitcoin’s price has slowly slipped, picking up its sell-off in recent weeks. 

And it's not just Bitcoin, either. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is also suffering: its price has taken a 15% hit in the past 24 hours, trading at just under $2,400 at the time of writing. 

Ethereum, like Bitcoin, is well off the all-time high it touched back in November of $4,878.26—by 49%. Popular tokens that run on the Ethereum network have not been able to avoid the sell-off in the past 24 hours. 

Meanwhile, Ethereum competitor Solana, which had a mighty boom last year, and seemingly sprung out of nowhere to land in the top 10 cryptos by market cap, is down 23% in the past day, trading at just under $94.

When will the bloodbath end? 

BTC price falls to $34K as Bitcoin RSI reaches most 'oversold' since March 2020 crash

It's looking more and more like a capitulation, but so far, open interest remains "unflushed," analysts warn

Bitcoin (BTC) refused to stem recent losses during Jan. 22 as predictions of a flight to $33,000 and lower looked increasingly likely to become a reality.

Open interest "still not flushed"

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it fell through $35,000 during the first half of Saturday.

With few silver linings available for the bulls, lower weekend volume was poised to deliver some classic erratic moves after Bitcoin lost $40,000 support on Friday.

While some, including El Salvador, made the most of the new lower levels, others voiced concern that despite the drop, pressure still remained on bulls.

"Crazy part is open interest still hasn't flushed," trader and analyst William Clemente summarized, one of many market participants noting that derivatives traders are still attempting to fight the trend.

"After all this carnage and absolute state of panic funding somehow isn't giga negative, futs aren't backwarded and OI barely went down. Interesting times. And with 'interesting' I mean poverty," popular Twitter account Byzantine General additionally quipped

RSI sinks towards March 2020 COVID lows

A source of slight relief came in the form of Bitcoin's relative strength index (RSI) on the day, this dipping to its lowest levels since March 2020.

Related: Here’s 3 ways the relative strength index (RSI) can be used as a sell signal

At that time, BTC/USD crashed to $3,600 before staging a comeback that would last well into the following year.

Daily RSI stood at just 20 Saturday, already well below even the classic "oversold" zone.

"A bit more reliable than Bitcoin alone -> total market capitalization is at next level of support, while the daily RSI hits the lowest level since March 2020," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe commented on the situation.

"Equities sentiment is also on the lowest level since March 2020. Says it all."

Equities markets had taken a hit towards the end of the week, with tech stocks particularly in the line of fire and crypto once again showing the extent of its positive correlation.

Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Bitcoin falls 7%, Ethereum sheds 9%

The global cryptocurrency market capitalisation dropped from $1.88 to $ 1.7 trillion during the last 24 hours while the trading volume surged from $66.35 to $126 billion.

The decentralised finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency market cap surged 123.14 percent to $120.97 billion. Value of stablecoins stood at $115 billion, representing nearly seven percent of the market. Stablecoins are tied to an asset - such as the dollar or any other fiat currency or gold - to stabilise their price.

Bitcoin's market dominance remained nearly flat at 40.51 percent and the asset was trading at $36,579 levels today morning.

In rupee terms, Bitcoin fell over seven percent to trade at Rs 29,63,463, while Ethereum fell nine percent to Rs 2,11,277.4.

Meanwhile, Robinhood Markets Inc is rolling out crypto wallets to a 1,000 users, allowing them to send and receive cryptocurrencies through their brokerage accounts, the company said in a blog post. The Menlo Park-based online brokerage had laid out plans to begin testing the wallets last year, with the aim of a broader rollout in 2022.

Here’s why Bitcoin traders say a drop to $38K is the worst case scenario

BTC’s drop to $42,230 sent a key sentiment indicator to an “extreme” low, but top traders are confident that a bounce off $38,000 would confirm the bottom.

The fallout from the Federal Reserve's recent hawkish comments about raising interest rates as soon as March continued to weigh heavily on the cryptocurrency market on Jan. 6. The Crypto Fear & Greed index has been dialed down to 15 and some traders are lamenting the possible start of an extended bear market. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that bears attempted to challenge the lows set on Jan.5, bringing BTC price down to $42,439 during early trading on Jan. 6.

Let's take a quick look at where analysts think the price might go in the next few days.

Bitcoin could bottom between $38,000 and $40,000

According to Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings and a staunch cryptocurrency advocate, this latest move down “has been on low volume” and highlighted the fact that there is a “tremendous amount of institutional demand on the sidelines.”

As for whether or not Novogratz sees the current market conditions as a good buying opportunity, the experienced trader told CNBC that “he’s waiting a little longer to buy crypto” and suggested that the market will “be volatile over the next few weeks.”

BTC attempts to establish a higher low

A closer look at the recent BTC price action was offered by crypto analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital, who posted the following chart comparing the current market conditions to those that were seen the last time BTC price fell below its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA).

According to Rekt Captial, BTC “has deviated below the blue 50 EMA” and is now in the process of trying to set a new higher low (HL) as represented by the green dashed line.

Rekt Capital said,

“In May 2021, BTC also formed a Higher Low (orange) upon deviating below the 50 EMA. BTC held the HL initially but wicking below it was common also.”

Based on the circled section provided on the above chart, Rekt Capital sees the possibility of BTC dropping down into the $40,000 range.

Related: Bitcoin price bounces off $42K as order book imbalance turns 'crazy'

BTC price is in the “golden pocket”

A final bit of analysis highlighting the critical junction the market is in was provided by independent market analyst Scott Melker, who posted the following chart showing BTC trading between the 0.65 and 0.618 Fibonacci retracement levels.

According to Melker, this range is known as the “golden pocket” and “is considered the most viable place too long or short an asset and look for a reversal.”

Melker said,

“Price is currently in the golden pocket of the move from $28,600 to $69,000.”

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.077 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 39.5%.

Top GPUs for mining in 2021

Are you going to get some new GPUs? Then take a look at this article first — here you will find a list of the top GPUs for mining in 2021 (all of the GPUs provided in this article are described on the basis of ETH mining).

Do note that your mileage may vary and the below stated hashrates and power consumptions are average based.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT allows reaching ~50MH/s. With proper timings, the hashrate can be increased to 54–55MH/s. This applies to all GPUs, but especially AMD, you should take any and all software power readings with a grain of salt. The power consumption is pretty attractive: ~130W. This means that the efficiency is ~0.55 MH/s per Watt.

Source: AMD

📍Disadvantages: loud fans and weak cooling system.

The launch price: $399.

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT can reach almost 41–42MH/s. The power consumption is ~130W. This gives us an efficiency of 0.32 MH/s per Watt. This may seem to be not very impressive, but this GPU is rather energy-efficient. Besides, its price is rather low.

Source: The Verge

In general, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is a great choice if you manage to find them at their MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price).

📍Unfortunately, this is virtually impossible, and this statement is relevant for any video card.

The launch price: $279.

AMD Radeon VII

This card seems to be the leader in terms of performance — it allows reaching ~100MH/s (after some tweaking). This is possible thanks to the improved memory bandwidth — 1TB/s, and 16GB of high bandwidth memory. At the same time, the power consumption is ~190W. This means that the efficiency of AMD Radeon VII can reach 0.53 MH/s per Watt.

Source: AnandTech

However, fans can get very loud while mining and the average temperatures are rather high. Besides, AMD Radeon VII is very hard to find, especially at its launch price, which is rather high on its own.

By the way, if you managed to get this GPU and now are wondering how to c-mode Radeon VII for Hive OS, here is the guide.

The launch price: $699.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

With NVIDIA RTX 3080 you can reach almost 98–100MH/s with the correct OC, miner, and cooling solutions, while the power consumption is ~220W. Therefore, the efficiency is 0.45 MH/s per Watt.

Source: Forbes

That’s one of the best options, but just like any new gen GPU right now, it is scarcely available, and the pricing is extremely inflated. So you will have to think twice before buying such a card.

The launch price: $699.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti allows reaching ~60MH/s. The energy consumption is ~130W. This gives us the efficiency of 0.46 MH/s per Watt, while the price is rather attractive. Among all the NVIDIA GPUs mentioned in this article, 3060 Ti is one of the cheapest options (if you manage to find it at this price).

Source: Gadgets 360

It’s a great alternative to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 that reaches the same hashrates and power levels but has higher MSRP.

The launch price: $399.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

With NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti you can reach the hashrate of ~25MH/s. It seems to be not that high, but the power consumption is a great benefit — only ~77W. This means that the efficiency is 0.32 MH/s per Watt.

Source: AnandTech

The launch price: $279

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super

And here comes another affordable GPU — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super. Its hashrate is ~26MH/s, and the power consumption is ~70W. Therefore, the efficiency is 0.37 MH/s per Watt.

The launch price: $229

🗣 What miners think

We provided you with the list of top GPUs for mining in 2021 — it was created on the basis of our users’ preferences. Here are some of the results we got from our Twitter survey:

However, some of these cards are very hard to find, especially at their suggested retail price. That’s the main disadvantage and a potential challenge for you.

As for other disadvantages, like high average temperatures, you can deal with them with the help of Hive OS and its autofan feature.

To choose a card, consider your needs and budget, show due diligence, and remember about ETH 2.0. Try to estimate the ROI of your potential cards to understand how much time they will need to pay off. ETH won’t switch to PoS right now, but it will still happen at some point, and after this, even the most efficient GPUs will become useless for staking ETH