thecryptoguru

[thecryptoguru]

Ethereum Price Technical Analysis – ETH/USD Support Turned Resistance

Key Highlights

ETH price tumbled and broke a major support at $648-660 against the US Dollar.

This week’s highlighted important bullish trend line with support at $660 was breached on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).

The pair retested the broken support at $648, but it acted as a resistance and prevented gains.

Ethereum price is back in a bearish zone against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD has to move back above $645-660 to start a fresh upside wave.

Ethereum Price Resistance

There was a fresh start of a downside move from well above $675 in ETH price against the US Dollar. The price declined and broke many supports such as $675 and $660. The decline gained pace once there was a break below the $675 support. It dropped by more than $80 and settled below the 100 hourly simple moving average. During the decline, there was a close below a crucial pivot level at $548.

More importantly, this week’s highlighted important bullish trend line with support at $660 was breached on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. There was even a downside spike below $600 and the price traded as low as $595.37. Later, an upside wave was initiated and the price moved above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $711 high to $595 low. However, the upside move was protected by the previous support at $648. Moreover, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $711 high to $595 low also acted as a barrier for buyers.

Looking at the chart, the price seems to be struggling to move back above $648. The stated $648 level was a support earlier and now it is acting as a hurdle. In the short term, there could be ranging moves below $648 before the price makes the next move.

Hourly MACD – The MACD has moved back in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is now well below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $595

Major Resistance Level – $642

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[thecryptoguru]

Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD Broke Key Support

Key Points

Bitcoin cash price extended its downside move and traded below the $1,350 support against the US Dollar.

Yesterday’s highlighted crucial bullish trend line with support near $1,355 was breached on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair is now consolidating losses above the $1,240 level and it remains at a risk of more declines.

Bitcoin cash price moved down further below $1,300 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD broke a key support and it may now extend its decline in the near term.

Bitcoin Cash Price Resistance

There was a fresh downside move started from the $1,574 high in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The price declined and broke many supports yesterday near $1,400 and $1,360. More importantly, there was a break below the $1,350 pivot level, which ignited further gains. BCH sellers even succeeded in pushing the price below $1,300 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The trend change move was a break below yesterday’s highlighted crucial bullish trend line with support near $1,355 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. The pair traded as low as $1,232 and is currently consolidating losses. On the upside, an initial resistance is near $1,320 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The next resistance is near the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $1,574 high to $1,232 low at $1,360. The stated $1,360 level was a support earlier and now it may prevent upsides.

Looking at the chart, it seems like the price may consolidate around $1,300 for some time. There is a chance of a downside spike towards $1,200 before the price makes an upside move. On the upside, a break above $1,360-1,400 is needed for a test of $1,500.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is mostly in the bearish zone.

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

Major Support Level – $1,200

Major Resistance Level – $1,360

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[thecryptoguru]

NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 26, 2018

Other than EOS and Tron which are still oscillating in the green territory, most coins are correcting and for good reasons. Leading the correction pack is IOTA which is down 14 percent and NEO which follows closely at 12 percent. It’s my expectation that sellers shall confirm the double bar bear reversal patterns that is clear in the daily chart as they move lower and probably rest and reverse at our support lines. Because of this, I’m net bearish but with a bullish skew.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

Stellar Lumens 4HR Chart by Trading View

When it pops it does pop and Stellar is no exception. After periods of consolidation and liquidation in the 4HR chart, sellers found their way. In the daily chart we now have this nice double bar bear reversal pattern complete with a stochastics sell signal forming in the midst of an uptrend. In my view, this short term correction is a blessing in disguise for those who want to add their longs and for those who missed the original rally up.

As before, the entry chart is the 4HR chart and here, price action is in sync with the daily chart. I expect buyers to find support anywhere between 25 cents and 30 cents. If a stochastic buy signal prints at this zone, buyers should initiate longs and aim for 50 cents and 70 cents as per our previous Stellar Lumens price forecast.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

IOTA 4HR Chart by Trading View

In the last 24 hours, IOTA prices have been on the receiving end of bears. It’s down 14 percent for the day and has fallen gracefully from its peak at $2 where it had perched. Like most coins, this is just but a normal correction and buyers can now ramp up at a discount.

In my view, sellers can continue loading up shorts in lower time frames now that there is a stochastic sell signal in our entry chart and most importantly in the daily chart where a double bar bear reversal pattern is visible. Going forward, potential support lies anywhere between $1.5 and $1.7. At this zone, hints of buy pressure or a stochastic buy signal should provide possible of higher highs and possible IOTA propulsion towards $3.

EOS/USD (EOS)

EOS 4HR Chart by Trading View

Whether EOS will smash January 2018 highs today or in June doesn’t matter. What we do know is that price appreciation in the run up of EOSIO launch which is less than 40 days away is inevitable. After all, EOS has been doing a pretty good job when it comes to marketing their product, so demand is something that shouldn’t be a problem. After a 110 percent surge in the last 30 days and a 50 percent spike on April 24, yesterday’s price action is what we were anticipating. Our EOS trade plan is simple.

From our technical set up, any depreciation towards $12 is positive since buyers can own EOS at a discount. Then again, we have a stochastic sell signal in the 4HR chart complete with an over-extension following that 50 percent flash gain on April 24.

I remain neutral but I’m leaning towards bulls. Ideally if prices drop towards the upper end of our support at $11.5 or anywhere in between that level and $9.5 on the lower end then I shall be watching out for reversal signs. If not and prices surge past $17, then we can project EOS at $25 in the coming weeks. After all, buying and syncing with the weekly trend is a sure way of registering a profit.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

Litecoin 4HR Chart by Trading View

Besides the 10 percent drop in Litecoin prices in the last 24 hours, it’s now official that Wirex is adding Litecoin to their wallet. Going forward, all verified users can trade or transact using Litecoin as a settlement. This is actually good news if we are banking Litecoin retail demand to drive prices up.

Congratulations to the Wirex team for adding LTC! #PayWithLitecoin https://t.co/KSJh76GQmG

— Litecoin Foundation (@LTCFoundation) April 25, 2018

Technically, sellers are in the driving seat and capitalizing that bearish divergence pattern that has been panning out for the better part of last week. I will reiterate and say that there is a Litecoin undervaluation with the coin trading within a break out pattern.

In my view, we expect first support at $140 and if sellers slice through this level effortlessly then we expect support anywhere between $125 and $140. This $15 zone is our ideal level of buying whenever a stochastic buy signal prints in the 4HR chart.

NEO/USD (NEO)

NEO 4HR Chart by Trading View

Of all the coins in the top 10, NEO is resilient and it has been even during the necrotic bear market in Q1 2018. Now, NEO, through its investment arm the NEO Global Capital shall inject $1 Million into Moonlight. Moonlight is a project that will launch on NEO and plans to change how recruitment of human resource is done.

We are pleased to announce that Neo Global Capital will be supporting the Moonlight Project to develop a workforce platform that will fuel the Smart Economy!$Neo #SmartEconomy pic.twitter.com/HFcd2VJwlA

— Moonlight (@Moonlightdotio) April 25, 2018

From the chart, NEO is correcting just like its peers. It’s up four percent for the week and down 12 percent in the last 24 hours. Ideally, buyers might find support at $60 or there about before rebounding and probably rallying towards $90. As it is, we have a stochastic sell signal in place and until when there is a shift of momentum, buyers should stay neutral.

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[thecryptoguru]

Vancouver Police Push Government to Enforce KYC/AML Laws with Cryptocurrencies

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has warned Canada’s federal government that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organized crime to launder money.

The agency advises that checks and balances are necessary to monitor the digital coins, and pushes for the enforcement of amendments to legislation that would require crypto-related transactions be reported to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, FINTRAC.

Increase in Police Filings

Police in Metro Vancouver saw a 350% increase in filings related to cryptocurrency from 2016 to 2017. As of January this year, the agency investigated 70 files, calculating a potential for 800 cases by the end of year — a 300% increase over 2017.

Because of these findings, police are growing increasingly worried that organized criminals — both domestic and foreign — will take advantage of the potential anonymity related to digital currencies, specifically to launder money.

The report noted that because of lack of regulation in Canada, services that operate in cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin ATMs, don’t currently require the collection of customer details and place no limit on the amount of funds that can be transferred from one person to another.

“Given this lack of regulation, it is likely that Canadian organized criminals will use Bitcoin ATMs to launder their cash. However, we will likely also see foreign organized crime taking advantage of the lack of regulations,” the report read. “Any forward-thinking criminals will be exploring cryptocurrency and ATMs as an easier and more profitable alternative.”

According to Coin ATM Radar there are 63 Bitcoin ATMs in Metro Vancouver. Since many are owned by small, independent vendors, police are worried that they don’t follow Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications, which require the collection of personal information from users such as government-issued photo IDs and birth dates, the report read.

Bill C-31: FINTRAC Registration

The report accompanied a VPD-authored resolution to be brought before the Canadian Association of Police Governance. The resolution calls for the implementation of government amendments made to legislative Bill C-31, which passed in 2014 but was not brought into force.

Bill C-31 amended the country’s crime and terrorist financing act to include regulations for digital currencies. The bill requires any company wishing to transmit or convert digital currencies to register with FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence unit.

“The lack of regulatory framework allows criminal groups to explore a myriad of ways that they can exploit Bitcoin ATMs and exchanges,” the report read. “They can commit fraud, launder money and turn Canada into a haven for international criminal funds. Implementing the cryptocurrency provisions from Bill C-31 would not eliminate these problems. However, they would restrict them at their source and severely limit their ability to flourish.”

Image from Shutterstock.

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[thecryptoguru]

TopiaCoin: Building a Secure Future for Blockchain Applications

John Chambers, the former Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., famously said that “there are two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that don’t know they have been hacked.”

Some notable breaches over the past few years include the 3,000,000,000 email accounts at Yahoo, the 143,000,000 credit files at Equifax, and the 87,000,000 Facebook accounts accessed by Cambridge Analytica.

The reason why these data breaches occur and keep occurring is that data lies on central servers just waiting for hackers to breach the firewall. In Decentralizing Privacy: Using Blockchain to Protect Personal Data, the authors write:

“The recent increase in reported incidents of surveillance and security breaches compromising users’ privacy call into question the current model, in which third-parties collect and control massive amounts of personal data.”

The goal then is to move away from gatekeepers to a decentralized system. However, the decentralized system also presents many challenges. The “Godfather of Bitshares” Stan Larimer says:

“Today, there is no real data security for blockchain-based applications, and there is a huge need in the marketplace for a security layer.”

The real opportunity then lies in securing blockchain-based applications. This leads us to think where this type of technology could exist today and the first place that came to mind is the military. After all, the military needs end-to-end encryption that cannot be hacked.

Topia Technology

To meet its needs, the military has relied on Secrata, developed by Topia Technology. It is the only enterprise security platform providing triple-layer encryption and separation end-to-end, protecting against brute force attacks and more innovative security threats. It has offered unparalleled security, flexibility, and performance for US government agencies such as the Air Force, Army, FAA, TSA and other enterprises that have required protection coupled with strict performance metrics.

What Topia Technology has done is combine its patented security for shredding and encrypting data with the power and transparency of blockchain into its SDFS network. Individuals and businesses will be able to quickly and securely share any digital asset without a central server and with the confidence that each transaction is not only performed in a manner agreed upon by the blockchain, but it will also have the ability to guard against multiple threats.

SDFS Network

As part of the launch of the SDFS network, Topia Technology will release a new cryptocurrency token known as TopiaCoin. This token will be used within the SDFS network to pay for services as well as reward users who contribute to the healthy functioning of the Network. As outlined in the white paper, common use cases include:

Secure Messaging dApp using SDFS – A company requiring the need to for secure communication between employees can create a Secure Message application on top of the SDFS network

Delivery of Digital Assets for Online Sales – A company that needs to securely process the sale and distribution of digital assets (such as movies, music, or electronic tickets) could use the SDFS network and data layer libraries to streamline the delivery process.

Lawyers, CPAs, and other professional service providers need to be able to exchange confidential documents with their customers and clients.

By using TopiaCoin’s Secure Decentralized File Sharing (SDFS) network, developers and manufacturers of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices will be able to build security into their products from the ground up by using the ready-made building blocks provided by the SDFS libraries.

The SDFS network fills the security gap in decentralized systems and enables developers to leverage the decentralized Internet to power their decentralized applications. Through “Secure File Sharing”, the first DApp available on the TopiaCoin network, individuals and businesses are able to quickly and securely share any data file or digital asset without the need for a central server or authority; and, with the confidence that each transaction is performed in a manner agreed upon by the blockchain.

ICO

Compared to other initial coin offerings, TopiaCoin has been designed from the beginning to build trust and investor faith by keeping current with all SEC regulations. To do so, Topia retained the prestigious law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati who have structured TopiaCoin as a security that is offered through a SAFT. This critical step, in our opinion, makes TopiaCoin one of the top ICOs today because it can pass any and all regulatory scrutiny, which is extremely important in today’s environment.

For accredited investors looking to take advantage of this ground floor opportunity, the pre-sale is still going on. The public sale will run from May 15 to June 5, 2018. More information can be found on the TopiaCoin website, white paper, Medium, Twitter, and Telegram.

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[thecryptoguru]

OKEx: Ethereum Smart Contract Bug Causes Temporary Suspension of ERC-20 Deposits

Today, April 25th, the third largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, OKEx, announced that all ERC-20 token deposits have been suspended.

The move comes after developers discovered an Ethereum Smart Contract bug called BatchOverflow which permits those who exploit the bug to issue an almost unlimited number of new tokens. In turn, the newly minted tokens can then be deposited into other asset wallets. ‘This makes many of the ERC-20 tokens vulnerable to price manipulations of the attackers,’ the OKEx team wrote. 

Ethereum Smart Contract Bug: BatchOverflow

The issue was first reported in a Medium post published by OKEx three days ago. The post explained that the bug is a classic integer overflow issue, which occurs when any operation uses a numerical value outside the range that can be represented with the allocated number of bits. In detailing the problem, OKEx’s post also included a proof-of-concept which showed how an unlimited number of tokens can be generated from any vulnerable ERC-20 contract. 

The post reads: “To protect public interest, we have decided to suspend the deposits of all ERC-20 tokens until the bug is fixed. Also, we have contacted the affected token teams to conduct investigation and take necessary measures to prevent the attack.”

It’s still unclear how many ERC-20 tokens are vulnerable to this bug, or which ones specifically are affected. As of today, BeautyChain (BEC) is the only confirmed token to be attacked.

The big fear is that this particular Ethereum Smart Contract bug will permit price manipulations of the vulnerable ERC-20 tokens. Unfortunately, a similar incident occurred in March on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance when attackers manipulated Viacoin (VIA), exchanging users altcoins for VIA and causing the coin’s price to climb.

OKEx and Changelly

Besides OKEx, another cryptocurrency trading platform, Changelly, has also suspended ERC-20 token trading. Announcing the suspension through its Twitter, the company wrote: 

“Dear Customers, ERC20 tokens are temporarily unavailable due to an exploit check. We will bring them back, once we are sure there is no vulnerability in deposits received. Follow the updates!”

This news comes just a day after a DNS attack was executed against popular online cryptocurrency storage provider MyEtherWallet (MEW). The security breach occurred at around 12:00 p.m. UTC yesterday and led to the draining of many MEW users funds. 

According to an official statement from the MEW team on Reddit, the breach occurred through the hijacking of Domain Name System servers. This caused MEW users to be redirected to phishing sites where control of their funds were unknowingly handed over to the perpetrators of the attack.

Image from Shutterstock.

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[thecryptoguru]

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee Thinks Bitcoin Cash is Currently Overbought

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee appeared on CNBC’s Fast Money show yesterday to weigh in on the ‘battle’ between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Despite efforts by the shows presenters to illicit a partisan response from Lee, the ‘general’ remained diplomatic in his answers.

Lee Steers Conversation Away From Community Infighting

Even though the title of the segment is ‘in the battle between bitcoin and bitcoin cash, Tom Lee says buy bitcoin’, Lee spent very little time addressing any conflict between the Bitcoin community. When the presenter referred to him as a ‘general’ in the ‘battle’, Lee looked bemused. He responded to a question about which to buy diplomatically:

“I prefer not to pick winners and losers when we’re looking at cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash… Both have merits but if I was putting new money to work today… I would be a lot more interested in buying a lagger that could attract inflows rather than something that’s potentially overbought.”

He addressed the issue of Bitcoin Cash being overbought, stating the pending hard fork in BCH was likely driving the rising price seen in the asset over the last couple of days.

The Fundstat co-founder was then asked if he thought Bitcoin was acting as an indicator for the stock market. To this, the investor replied that he thought the two were casually connected at best.

Perhaps the most interesting portion of the show was when the conversation turned to adoption of cryptos by institutional investors. When asked if he thought more large money managers were ‘allowed’ exposure to BTC and other currencies, Lee responded:

“Every week that passes there’s further progress and further clarity. I think more clients are starting to be very serious about how they want to have exposure to this asset class… We’re having more conversations with people you’d never think would actually have an interest who want to talk about it.”

This lead to questions about the Goldman Sachs trading desk that’s penned to launch this summer. Lee affirmed that he believed the move by the investment bank was indicative of the digital asset class going more mainstream. He said that he felt that it was a sign that the space was maturing thanks to greater ‘clarity and custody’, as well as there being a lot of money to be potentially made. The interview concluded with Lee explaining the Bitcoin Misery Index to a panel more concerned with the fact that the acronym was the same as ‘body mass index.’

Tom Lee has long been bullish on Bitcoin and digital currencies generally. His recent price predictions state that there will be new all-time highs for BTC by the end of the year. He’s also claimed that each Bitcoin could be worth $55,000 by the year 2022.

Image from Shutterstock.

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[thecryptoguru]

Cryptics: Introducing the Crypto-Market to AI-Based Trading Solutions

In two years, the crypto-market has experienced astronomical growth not just in numbers but also market valuation. The sudden increase in value and adoption has opened several opportunities for anyone willing to ride the bandwagon.

Cryptocurrencies are moving beyond reliable and independent ecosystems of money transfer to form efficient and creative token economies. For instance, the cryptocurrency version of crowdfunding, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are quickly turning breakthrough ideas into real-world businesses. In comparison with 2016, the number of ICOs increased three-fold during the first three quarters of 2017 along with the volume of investments, which grew 20 times to cross $2 billion.

Advancing Forecasting Algorithms Which Can Be Further Used for Trading Crypto-Assets

However, even with such impressive terms of growth, the crypto-market is still not as efficient as desired. The evaluation of the market shows significant volatility, which can be attributed to the lack of knowledge and methods for the correct estimation of value. One way to tackle this problem of market efficiency is to provide support for those market participants who take the risk of drastic changes in the market, liquidity for exchange and a safety cushion for the retail investor.

In the spirit of diversification and healthy competition, Cryptics plans to solve the aforementioned problem by advancing forecasting algorithms which can be further used for trading crypto-assets.

How exactly will Cryptics achieve this? Efficient and stable markets are profitable to everyone for sure. Cryptics is going to increase the safety and reliability of crypto-market by providing transparency and understanding of inner mechanics to traders and investors, as well as a platform that connects all of them to each other and to the scientific community. As a result, miners will be able to get more leverage by providing their services to the Cryptics community and investors will get effective tools for short-term and mid-term investment opportunities.

The Decentralized Creation of Private Funds

Cryptics platform combines four modules in such a way that all facets of the issues described above are tackled in an integrated manner. This includes; forecasting engine, auto-trading engine, fund infrastructure, integration with research and academic community.

Cryptics will first introduce an algorithm focusing on predicting changes in the valuation of crypto-assets around the world, both in respect to fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. These predictions will be made available to any user of the Cryptics platform either for private purposes or for building a trading strategy and create a fund on the Cryptics platform. The auto-trading module then enables the user to execute the forecasts on crypto-asset exchanges of their choice immediately. This module will have an embedded application that acts as a constructor of trading strategies, which will enable new Cryptics users to get acquainted with the services offered by the platform and gain information that will help them combine these services into profitable trading strategies.

Cryptics will also provide traders with an opportunity to run strategies on the platform which will be connected via API to various crypto-exchanges. With time, the platform will continue investing in robust and stable infrastructure systems to ensure fast and stable connectivity to the market anytime. This will facilitate the creation of an ecosystem where a platform user buys a forecast and follows a diversified strategy developed by a trader, who will hence build his own private fund, and act as a fund and portfolio manager. The trader’s profitability and risk profile will be outlined to each user to support decision making.

The team of developers at Cryptics will maintain mutually beneficial cooperation with the scientific community to help foster quick implementation of breakthrough developments in order to improve their services. Cryptics is also considering the creation of a non-profit platform for the academic community to share knowledge and experience through free webinars, courses, etc.

Financial Structure and Token Details.

The Cryptics utility token will be ERC20 compliant. It can be purchased against either ETH or BTC during the token sale. The token will be used for internal transactions between all parties within the Cryptics platform. For instance, a token owner can exchange CRYPTICS token for market forecasting subscription. The tokens will also be used by the traders to operate their private funds on the platform. Such relationships between traders and investors will be transferred to blockchain and regulated by Ethereum smart contracts, without any need for a third party. Since the platform’s profit will depend on the user profits, Cryptics will remain committed to providing access to reliable predictions and the best possible environment for its users.

The token sale is intended to provide funds which will be used for the platform development and to attract the best talent to make the product as reliable as possible. The ITO will start during the second quarter of 2018. A total of 66,000,000 CRYPTICS tokens will be on sale, with each token priced at 0.001 ETH.

More information about the Cryptics platform and its upcoming token sale is available at  https://cryptics.tech/

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[thecryptoguru]

Cryptocurrency Exchange Gemini Joins Nasdaq to Surveil for Market Manipulation

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, will utilize Nasdaq technology to monitor for trading manipulation.

Under the agreement, the exchange will use Nasdaq’s surveillance software, called SMARTS, to monitor its markets for potentially abusive trading practices. The two companies announced the agreement on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Financial details have yet to be released.

The partnership comes as U.S. regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) are more closely scrutinizing the cryptosphere to root out bad actors, and is the first time the cryptocurrency industry has deployed a well-established surveillance system to root out misbehavior, specifically market manipulation.

“We’re doing this because we believe in the importance of creating a rules-based marketplace,” Cameron Winklevoss, president and co-founder of Gemini, said. “We believe this is where things are headed.”

SMARTS

SMARTS is part of Nasdaq’s market-technology business, in which the New York-based exchange group sells software to other market operators. Although this is the first time it will be applied to crypto, the surveillance technology is already used by equities and derivatives exchanges around the world, including Intercontinental Exchange Inc., Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

How does it work? Nasdaq’s technology monitors real-time market activity and raises alerts if it detects unusual trading patterns. If flags are raised, further steps are then taken to determine whether the traders behind the patterns broke any rules.

At Gemini, SMARTS will help monitor trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum. It will also surveil the auctions that the exchange holds at 4:00 p.m. ET to determine a daily benchmark price for Bitcoin, which is used to help price Cboe’s futures, according to a statement released today.

Unlike some of its competitors, Gemini appears to be taking a more traditional approach to policing its venue. The exchange ‘has aggressively pursued comprehensive compliance and surveillance programs,’ Gemini CEO and co-founder Tyler Winklevoss said.

The company believes trading surveillance ‘betters our exchange and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.’

Nasdaq

For Nasdaq, the Gemini partnership isn’t its first foray into the cryptocurrency space. The exchange group has said it is exploring the launch of its own Bitcoin futures. It is also involved in a few other projects that use blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, for the trading of private shares and shareholder voting.

Gemini aside, Nasdaq is also in ‘active discussions’ with a number of other cryptocurrency firms regarding SMARTS, according to Chief Executive Adena Friedman. ‘The crypto space is a nice growth area,’ she said.

In related Nasdaq news today, according to Friedman, once the industry matures the stock exchange is open to becoming a platform for trading cryptocurrencies:

“Certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a cryptocurrency exchange,” Friedman told CNBC’s Squawk Box today. “I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist it’s just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature,” she continued. “Once you look at it and say, ‘do we want to provide a regulated market for this?’ Certainly Nasdaq would consider it.”

Image from Shutterstock.

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[thecryptoguru]

Binance Founder Sued Over Venture Capital Funding Deals

The founder of the planet’s largest digital assets exchange platform has been sued over two potential funding deals from different venture capital firms. Sequoia Capital allege that talks with IDG Capital in late 2017 violated exclusivity agreements between Binance and Sequoia.

Binance in Violation of Exclusivity Agreement

According to Hong Kong court documents dated March 26 and April 24, Sequoia had been engaged in talks about investment since August 2017. Over the next few months, these negotiations continued. However, during December, as the price of Bitcoin reached its all-time highs, the talks broke down. Zhao Changpeng’s team are reported to have told Sequoia that their offer of $80 million for almost 11% of the business was an undervaluation.

It was around this time that a second venture capital firm set forth an alternate offer to Binance. IDG Capital proposed the injection of two rounds of funding into the company – the first $400 million, followed up by a subsequent $1 billion.

Sequoia claim that talks with IDG Capital violated the exclusivity rights agreed between themselves and Zhao. Despite efforts to settle the disagreement through arbitration, it became public when Sequoia requested an injunction barring Zhao from negotiating with other investors.

Bloomberg report that a spokeswoman from Binance told the publication that the firm were unable to comment on the matter immediately. They go on to state that Zhao has previously told them that his exchange platform will only consider partnering with investment firms if they can help with securing licenses and working with financial regulators.

Whilst Zhao is yet to provide proof of his company’s valuation, he claims that Binance is worth around $3 billion at a conservative estimate. Like the valuation, much of the exchange platform’s operations are kept secretive – such as the location of their offices and servers. However, for now Binance is thought to be based in Hong Kong – based on Zhao’s own earlier statements.

Recently though a move to a more friendly territory seems to be on the cards. Binance announced last month that they were considering relocating to Malta – a country already known for its lax taxation legislation and one that is actively pursuing regulations that lawmakers hope will make the island nation a haven for cryptocurrency startups. In late March, Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat himself addressed digital currencies with optimism in a political speech:

“I have no doubt that it [cryptocurrency] will form the base of a new economy in the future. Just as we attribute value to pieces of paper, so too will future generations attribute value to electronic storage systems.”

Image from Shutterstock.

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[thecryptoguru]

The Long-Awaited Bitcoin Price Uptrend has Arrived, Experts Claim

There is a lot of positive momentum as far as Bitcoin is concerned. Even though the price is struggling a bit right now, experts are convinced things will keep improving. This recent Bitcoin price rise has caused a lot of speculation and confusion. It seems the upcoming technical upgrades, combined with big investors, are to blame for this sudden change of pace.

Everything Comes up Bitcoin

The year 2018 has not been too great for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies thus far. With a strong bearish trend during Q1 of this year, naysayers were convinced this would be the end for Bitcoin. In reality, it seems as if the markets are recovering pretty quickly. A temporary dip will occur regardless, as is only to be expected at this stage. Even so, the upcoming technical advancements for Bitcoin will make a big impact on this industry.

Scaling Bitcoin has been a pretty big problem for several years. It now appears we may finally see proper improvements in this regard. The lightning technology solves a lot of problems, although further developments are still warranted. At the same time, there are some positive regulatory changes which make Bitcoin a lot more appealing all of a sudden. Although regulation will always be a controversial topic, it does provide more legitimacy to this industry.

There is a second positive aspect to Bitcoin regulation. With big investors now paying attention to cryptocurrency big things are bound to happen. Proper regulation will attract institutional investors at some point. So far, George Soros and the Rockefellers have made their Bitcoin investment strategy pretty clear. Regulating Bitcoin gives it a more legitimate investment appeal, which is something the world’s leading cryptocurrency direly needs at this stage.

Will the Bitcoin Price Surge Continue?

That question is a lot more difficult to answer right now. With negative pressure forming on the charts, anything is possible in this regard. The overall trend for the Bitcoin price remains pretty positive, which is all anyone can ask for. Institutional investors will pour money into Bitcoin, especially if the prices drop a bit further. Moreover, it seems traditional industry entities, such as banks, are also looking into offering Bitcoin trading services later this year.

One of the companies doing so is Goldman Sachs. The firm recently made an important hire to explore the option of setting up a Bitcoin trading desk. These plans have not been finalized at this point, yet they paint an interesting picture. UK bank Barclays is also thinking along the same lines, but has not officially made any announcements regarding an imminent launch.

Keeping the bigger picture in mind is always important when it comes to Bitcoin. This volatile cryptocurrency has seen solid upward momentum since its inception. It seems evident this trend will continue unabated, at least according to cryptocurrency experts.. In their opinion, reaching $10,000 is the next psychological barrier waiting to be broken. When that will happen exactly, remains unknown.

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[thecryptoguru]

Meet SKYFChain at CRYPTO TIMES Night #1 in Tokyo

On 8 May 2018, there’s a unique chance to meet SKYFChain at CRYPTO TIMES Night #1 in Tokyo. It is the first theme event of the CRYPTO TIMES — a cryptocurrency web media in Japan launched in February 2018. SKYFChain blockchain platform representatives will be present for a special pitch and talk session with Carciel, an aerospace and defense consulting firm.

CRYPTO TIMES is launching a series of events based on various themes, inviting the most promising companies and the most important influencers in the field. The first event is held with the theme of “cutting edge technology”.

SKYFChain, the first B2R (Business-to-Robots) operating platform of its kind meant for unmanned cargo logistics, based on the blockchain technology of smart contracts is the key guest of the CRYPTO TIMES Night #1.

SKYFchain is an open blockchain platform for keeping track of the events in life-cycles of cargo robots. The main components of the platform are the private blockchain, virtual payment gateways on Ethereum, and ERC-20 tokens (on Ethereum as well). Each transaction to a robot can be recorded on the platform, providing complete transparency of transactions while enabling automated monitoring of the quality of services, fleet functioning capacity, production licenses, insurance premiums, and many other indicators. Each record on the platform has its own cost, depending on the type, frequency and the complexity of it. Transactions are denominated in traditional currencies for the customer’s convenience.

The special pitch of SKYFChain and SKYFChain x Carciel talk session stands as the main agenda of the CRYPTO TIMES Night #1. Carciel Inc. is being represented by Kohei Ando, the CEO of this aerospace and defense consulting firm. Kohei Ando has over 25 years of representation of Logram and is a representative of Japan branch of this French headlight company.

About SKYF 

SKYF is an unmanned aerial platform for vertical take-off and landing. It allows the development of unmanned aerial vehicles with various modifications, to solve various problems, from cargo logistics and field processing to fire extinguishing. At the moment, the carrying capacity of the platform is up to 250 kg, the flight range is up to 350 km, the flight duration is up to 8 hours.

The developer of SKYF platform is ARDN Technology, an engineering company created by a group of Russian investors. The main development office is located in Kazan.

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[thecryptoguru]

Gamblica: A New Addition in Blockchain-Integrated Online Gambling Industry

Gamblica is an online blockchain-based, unique casino that offers a wide range of gambling activities including roulette, slot machines, poker room, sports betting etc. The platform running on completely transparent and secure smart contract system is presently in the midst of a successful token sale by raising over 1300 ETH to date. With the crowdsale set to end by June 1, 2018, Gamblica is inching towards achieving the set CAP of 1500 ETH much sooner than expected.

Currently, the platform is offering a 26% bonus to participants purchasing the GMBC tokens during the ongoing token sale.

The Background of Gamblica & Industry Challenges

The online gambling industry is one of the fastest growing markets in the world with an annual growth rate of 9% and almost $5 trillion in revenues. Despite the huge potential, there is a shortage of quality services in this growing market.

In addition, the industry has been faced with certain challenges, including the fraudulent behavior of operators, which leads to affected credibility in the market. Players are much concerned about their slot machine being potentially rigged.  Moreover, the risk of having one’s account blocked once they win a jackpot and move ahead to withdraw their prize, has always been high.

What is the Need of the Industry?

In the scenario stated above, there is a need for a decentralized and fair gambling platform where operators cannot access the users’ account and all transactions can easily be verified. It means putting control in the players’ hand. Gamblica, with the same motive, has been founded by aspirational developers and managers having more than 15 years of experience in the global gambling industry.

How Does Gamblica Address the Industry Challenges?

Gamblica is a blockchain-based online gaming platform that has been developed to avoid fraud, high fees and ensure user data protection. The team considers the integration of blockchain as a key advantage of Gamblica as it makes the platform accessible to the entire market worldwide, enabling fast, frictionless and hack-proof transactions without the risk of cheating.

How is Gamblica different from other similar platforms?

Most of the blockchain-based online casino target only dodgy operators who never want to lose profits. Gamblica, on the other hand, intends to develop a product for the end user, and that makes a real difference. As a result, one of the core features of Gamblica is based on its smart contracts and arcane cryptographic theories.  No one, literally not one person, can compromise the game’s outcome. Gamblica’s unique RNG requires several parameters to generate a random number. Each of those parameters is independent of others; some are generated by Ethereum blockchain. When they all come together in the project’s RSA PRNG algorithm, the game’s security becomes virtually impenetrable.

The only way to access the platform and purchase our services is Gamblica’s utility token — GMBC. The rest is simple: the platform grows, so does GMBC.

About the Token Sale

The token sale of Gamblica started with 50% bonus being offered to the investors in the 1st phase. The current phase is offering 26% bonus, so it is the high time to participate in the token sale and buy GBMCs, before the bonus hits 0%. You can purchase GBMC tokens by transferring BTC/ETH directly from your personal wallet. All bonuses will be awarded automatically. After the token sale, GMBCs can be transferred to the participant’s external ERC-20 compatible Ethereum wallet.

If you want to participate in Gamblica’s on-going token sale, please visit https://gamblica.com/

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[thecryptoguru]

China Continues Bitcoin Mining Crackdown by Seizing 600 Computers

China is a country which has a growing dislike for cryptocurrency and all related activities. The PBoC officially forbade CNY-based trading several months ago. It now appears the government is extending its crackdown to domestic Bitcoin mining operations. A total of 600 computers and other pieces of hardware were confiscated in Tianjin earlier this week.

Illicit Bitcoin Mining in China

According to sources, the investigation began due abnormal electricity usage in Tianjin. One of the local energy operators reported this development to the police. Eventually, the investigation led them to a location where someone was mining Bitcoin on a rather large scale. With 600 mining units and several high-power fans confiscated, the operation has now been shut down completely.

Local news outlet Xinhua claims this is the “largest power theft case” in a while. It is a bit unclear why they refer to this as theft, considering how the energy wasn’t stolen exactly. Instead, someone set up a Bitcoin mining operation without alerting the authorities. That is still illegal in China, and the end result remains the exact same. It also further confirms Chinese officials don’t take kindly to any cryptocurrency mining activity in the country.

This is another method which will push miners out of China. Despite being the largest mining hub for Bitcoin in recent years, things are changing in quick succession. The government effectively discourages any involvement in cryptocurrency and will continue to do so. Several miners shut down their operation, whereas others simply move to a different location altogether.

The Crackdown Continues Unabated

Up until now, there has been some debate as to whether or not China would revert its stance on cryptocurrencies. This latest development seems to indicate that will not be the case. The Central Bank plans to further regulate the power usage of Bitcoin miners in the region. This effort is taking place to reduce the scale of these operations and eventually force miners to different countries altogether.

This has caused some miners to pay more attention to European countries. Iceland has been extremely popular in the past few years due to its abundance of cheap electricity. Other European countries are also of great interest. In Canada, Bitcoin miners are also launching new operations as we speak. China’s role of importance has all but dissipated, yet the government failed to bring Bitcoin down to its knees.

For now, developments like this one will continue to occur in China for some time to come. During the seizure of this hardware, five people were identified as persons of interest. One other individual has been detained for his involvement in this mining operation. It remains unclear if they will face any legal repercussions for partaking in this venture.

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[thecryptoguru]

Changelly Partners Binance to Improve Token Listings and Transactions

The Binance exchange continues to make a lot of headlines. After its migration to Malta, the company has now struck a major partnership. Their new venture together with Changelly will result in more tokens, better rates, and faster transactions for users. It is symbolic how this partnership came to be through a meeting in Valletta, Malta.

Changelly Steps up its Game

In the cryptocurrency world, converting between different currencies can be a challenge. Rather than relying on cryptocurrency exchanges, people often use intermediary services. Changelly is quite a popular solution in this regard. It is a competitor to ShapeShift, as there is room for more than one company in that particular space.

By partnering with Binance, the conversion platform aims to improve its number of supported currencies. Additionally, they will benefit from slightly more liquidity and faster transactions. It appears to be a win-win situation for both parties. With the demand for cryptocurrency growing on a global scale, partnerships like these become more important. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao explains the decision:

“After meeting Konstantin in person to finalize our partnership, I am confident that Changelly has a professional team with great experience and even bigger potential. We believe that together we will provide users all over the world with a top-class level of service.”

Another Big Move for Binance

This new partnership puts Changelly in the position of “broker” between Binance and its users. There are no complicated interfaces,  high fees, and other off-putting aspects to take into account. Changelly’s algorithm picks up the live exchange rate from Binance and provides them to users in real-time. The instant exchange between different currencies will remain a possibility. Changelly CEO Konstantin Gladych comments:

“This partnership is a huge honor for Changelly: I am sure that it will help us provide even higher-quality service to our users around the world and increase our presence on the crypto market. The top exchange trusts us to have business with — this gives us confidence in what we do, and also responsibility to ensure five-star user experience. We are up for the challenge!”

For Changelly, having access to more cryptocurrencies to support is a smart decision. Binance is the world’s largest altcoin trading platform and as such, they support dozens of currencies, tokens, and assets. Changelly can add new tokens to their platform, although it remains unclear if all currencies will be supported in the long run. Binance provides access to over 100 assets, albeit not all of them are in high demand all the time.

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[thecryptoguru]

Huobi Announces Plans to Become EOS Block Producer

Chinese crypto exchange Huobi Pro announced plans yesterday to become a block producer on the EOS blockchain. Currently the world’s fourth largest crypto exchange with $2.3 billion in daily volume, Singapore headquartered Huobi becomes the latest to embrace the EOS ecosystem.

Supernode Candidacy for Huobi Pro

In a live stream event dubbed the ‘EOS Supernode Party’, and on Twitter the team revealed their application for candidacy to become the next EOS supernode.

Who will be the next Supernode? Hear from the 6 candidates for EOS Supernode, streaming LIVE NOW from World Blockchain Conference Summit.

Tune in here at https://t.co/R39Q7plmIV @EOS_io @eosdac #huobi #supernode #nodes #blockchain #mining pic.twitter.com/zqgMgCwakk

— Huobi Pro (@Huobi_Pro) April 24, 2018

EOS is similar to Ethereum in that it provides an ecosystem for dApp development and deployment however, unlike Ethereum, it runs on a delegated proof of stake consensus model. This differs to traditional proof of work mining in that the hash power is defined by the number of tokens held or staked by each user or node.

The pros are that it prevents mining monopolies controlling the network but the downside is that it does lead to centralization. Delegated PoS differs slightly in that blocks are produced by elected supernodes which change every 21 blocks in a continual approval voting system. This maintains honesty across the network and prevents one entity controlling too much of it. Those that want to be considered for election must announce their intentions to become a supernode, and Huobi has done just that.

EOS will be migrating away from the Ethereum network on June 2, 2018. The 21 supernodes supporting the mainnet must be in place by then so applications have been coming in thick and fast. Huobi is the largest exchange so far to lodge an application but it has also been joined by others organizations including ViaBTC, and AntPool.

Other exchanges are also making moves to become EOS block producer candidates. Bitfinex who already has an EOS powered exchange, EOSfinex, also announced candidacy on April 23rd. EOS has been having a good run lately with positive developments boosting price. Trading giant eToro announced that it would be adding the token to its listings expanding the total number of cryptocurrencies it offers to ten.

Boosted by the news EOS has continued to grow and is currently trading at just over $15, up 18% on the day. The altcoin recently surpassed Litecoin in the top 25 by market cap and it is currently fifth with $12.3 billion. Over the past month EOS has skyrocketed almost 125% from around $6.7 this time last month.

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[thecryptoguru]

Power Ledger to Trial Blockchain Based Energy Trading in Japan

Australian P2P energy startup Power Ledger will partner with a major Japanese electricity provider to test it’s blockchain enabled energy sharing platform.

Peer to Peer Energy Trading Trialed in Osaka

Perth based peer to peer energy sharing pioneer Power Ledger has announced a deal to Partner with Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), Japan’s second largest electricity utility, to trial P2P renewable energy sharing in the island nation according to Australian Financial Review.

KEPCO plans on implementing the Power Ledger platform in order to develop Virtual Power Plants (VPP) where local energy demands can be met by consumer-owned generating and storage facilities.

The aim of the trial is to allow electricity generating consumers to monetize on their investment of renewable energy while providing their community with cheaper energy via the blockchain based peer to peer platform.

The trial which is set to take place in Osaka city will start small with only ten homes using solar or possibly fuel cells. The homes will provide data from smart meters to KEPCO. The Power Ledger trading platform will use that data to analyze energy trading between participating homes. The object is to create an incentive for the development of renewable distributed energy resources (DER’s).

Japan is a Perfect Test Country

Managing director and co-founder of Power Ledger said that it is encouraging for a major company like KEPCO to recognize the advantage of distributed energy resources and that this is a great opportunity to be able to test the platform in a city the size of Osaka. He added that;

“The fact that KEPCO is exploring the Power Ledger platform as a solution is a massive indication that the industry has accepted that change is inevitable. The energy industry is traditionally conservative, and rightly so. When they implement changes consumers are relying on them to be certain it’s the right decision.”

Power Ledger’s technology is already in use in a number of trial programs across New Zealand and South East Asia. In it’s home country of Australia, a number of projects are expected to report their findings later this year. The system is particularly well suited for micro-grid or behind the meter communities where restrictive regulations don’t apply.

KEPCO which supplies electricity to Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto said that Japan being readily adaptive to new technology is an excellent country for additional trials of the P2P blockchain enabled platform as it searches for energy alternatives in the aftermath of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Power Ledger’s cryptocurrency POWR reacted to the news with a 24% price spike from $0.50 to $0.62, it has currently corrected to trade at $0.55 (5850 satoshis) according to Coinmarketcap.

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