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Analyst: Bitcoin Could Soar After Blockchain Week New YorkMay 11, 2018 – Blockchain Week New York City is already underway, and analysts have noted that the price of bitcoin has historically increased following the event since 2015. The event is one of the biggest for cryptocurrencies, largely due to Consensus 2018, which hosts some of the world’s most influential financial and blockchain professionals. In 2015, Blockchain Week had 1500 attendees, while this year around 8000 attendees are expected. Managing director and technical strategist of Fundstrat Global Advisors, Robert Sluymer, thinks “the regulatory risk, the fundamental risk around what’s happening with cryptos has hit a bottom and now we’re in a state of general recovery”. In their recent report, Fundstrat Global Advisors anticipates the price of bitcoin to get as high as $64,000 next year. Read the full article here. |
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Federal Reserve: Launch of Bitcoin Futures Dragged Down PricesMay 7, 2018 – A report released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve notes that bitcoin’s decline that came after its surge to nearly $20,000 USD was directly tied to the launch of the futures market. The highest price of bitcoin lines up exactly the day that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) introduced bitcoin futures trading. Until the release of bitcoin futures, shorting bitcoin and betting on the decline of cryptocurrencies was next to impossible. Researchers say that the launch of bitcoin futures allowed for pessimists to finally enter the market, which contributed to reversal in price. Several exchanges do offer the ability to short bitcoin through certain derivatives, but never the underlying cryptocurrency. The San Francisco Federal Reserve says that future prices and demand for bitcoin could be helped by any traditional financial institutions starting to accept bitcoin as a means of payment. Read the full article here. |
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Bitcoin Wallets Pre-Installed on new Huawei SmartphonesMay 11, 2018 – Huawei, one of the world’s largest smartphone hardware manufacturers, has announced that its mobile phone users will soon be able to download Bitcoin wallets on Huawai devices. The BTC.com Bitcoin wallet will be available on its AppGallery application, and will come pre-installed on all new Huawei and Honor phones. The app will be rolled out to older devices over the coming months. “It’s a good opportunity to tap into the Chinese market. The use of cashless payments with apps is very big and the traditional banking system is lacking, so there’s a good use case for crypto payments to grow there,” vice-president of BTC.com’s small business operations said in an interview. Read the full article here. |
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Nasdaq’s CEO is Bullish on CryptocurrenciesMay 11, 2018 – Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman is getting more optimistic about blockchain and the technology powering popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. She sees that blockchain and cryptocurrencies will likely play a key role in the economy of the future. Back in April, Nasdaq landed a technology deal with major cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust, which was founded by two early bitcoin investors, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Gemini will be using Nasdaq’s technology to ensure that its trading activity is within compliance. “How it evolves and which of the cryptocurrencies may or may not be the one that ultimately gets embraced, I think that really the jury is still out on that. But I do think the idea of a more globalized payment mechanism that is more efficient than what we have today allows for money to transfer across countries and certainly supports the Internet economy,” said Friedman in an interview. Watch the full interview here. |
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Facebook is Taking a Serious Look at Blockchain and CryptocurrenciesMay 11, 2018 – Facebook has undergone an incredible transformation, shifting rapidly from being just a social media company to becoming an information powerhouse. The company has recently reshuffled its executive board and formed a blockchain group. By using blockchain as a decentralized record-keeping system, Facebook could tackle some of its growing pains, such as providing a place for them to store identity verification data to address privacy concerns. Facebook’s experimental blockchain group will be led by David Marcus, who was the executive most recently in-charge of Facebook’s messenger group. David Marcus currently sits on the board of directors at Coinbase, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. “This new small team will be exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share” said a spokesperson from Facebook. Read the full article here. |
