08 August Cryptocurrency Newsletter

If you are interested in cryptocurrencies, this newsletter is for you. [img] [img]( [FeedBinary Newsletter]( [Iran One-Ups the United States? Tehran Seeks Crypto Mining Dominance]( Iran’s government OKs power plants mining crypto as the country moves forward with a national strategy for cryptocurrency mining. Crypto mining in Iran is set to become even bigger with the government giving the green light for power plants to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The news is the latest piece of positive development on the virtual currency mining front to come out of the country in the last year. Since legalizing crypto mining back in July 2019, Iranian authorities have sought to ensure market participants operate only after obtaining the required licenses. By allowing power plants to engage in cryptocurrency mining, Iran is joining other emerging hubs as the global “hash wars” gathers pace. Iran has seen an influx of miners because of its cheap electricity, catapulting the country to be one of the more significant crypto mining nations outside of China. Meanwhile, major market participants in North America are expanding their operations with multiple inventory acquisitions over the past few months. Only licensed crypto mining Iranian authorities have given the go-ahead for power plants to mine cryptocurrency. However, the authorization comes with a caveat, as power plant operators cannot use subsidized fuel. Thus, Iranian power plants looking to mine Bitcoin must obtain a license from the government and use the approved electricity tariffs determined by the authorities. Not allowing power plants to use subsidized fuel is a measure taken by the government to ensure that such activities do not negatively impact the supply of electricity to residents as well as other industrial sectors in the country. Babak Behboudi, co-founder of digital asset trading platform SynchroBit Hybrid Exchange, told Cointelegraph that this news marks another milestone for legalized crypto mining in Iran. Iranian authorities emphasizing licensed crypto mining is not a new development. Indeed, as of January, the country’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has issued over 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining. Before legalization, some miners moved their operations to mosques in order to enjoy free electricity, prompting a government crackdown due to spikes in energy consumption. A compromise was soon found, with the government allowing crypto mining and even incentivizing more participants to move their operations to the country with the promise of tax holidays. Iranian cryptocurrency miners that repatriate their foreign earnings to the country are eligible for certain tax exemptions. As part of the campaign to only allow licensed crypto mining, the government has also offered rewards for whistleblowers who expose illegal cryptocurrency mining activities, with bounties of about 100 million rials ($2,375). Iran’s government sets the agenda In May, Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, called on officials at the Central Bank of Iran, Ministry of Energy, and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to develop a comprehensive national strategy for crypto mining. The move signaled greater intent by the government to include cryptocurrency mining in its economic recovery plans. With the country facing hyperinflation and a struggling economy made even worse by the coronavirus outbreak, the Iranian government has been increasingly examining the merits of greater involvement in the country’s crypto industry. Along with Egypt, Kuwait and Myanmar, Iran has one of the lowest electricity rates in the world. Cheap electricity is often an incentive for miners with healthier bottom lines. Outside of China, Iran controls the fifth-largest share of global Bitcoin mining hash rate distribution. Indeed, Iran’s rise in crypto mining activities in 2019 led to a slight decline in clean-energy crypto mining. In the third edition of its biannual Bitcoin mining report back in June 2019, digital asset management firm CoinShares revealed that global renewable energy penetration in the industry stood at 74.1%. In its latest research findings published in December 2019, the proportion slightly decreased to 73%. Commenting on the possibility of Iran claiming an even larger share of the global Bitcoin mining market, Behboudi remarked that it’s too early to say for sure. Challenging China’s dominance Power plants in Iran engaging in crypto mining might increase the country’s Bitcoin mining footprint, resulting in a larger share of the global hash rate distribution. As of August 2019, Iran ranked ninth in the world in thermal power generation capacity, with a rapid increase of 9,000 megawatts happening over a six-year period. The news also comes as participants in other major crypto mining hubs appear to be upscaling their operations. Major North American miners like Bitfarms and Marathon have made sizable orders for mining rigs from major manufacturers like MicroBT and Bitmain in the past few months. These new inventories contain the latest iterations of mining hardware touted as being able to deliver far greater levels of productivity than the older generation of rigs. Highly efficient crypto mining is even more of a concern in the present climate, especially after the May Bitcoin block reward halving. In Kyrgyzstan, Bitcoin mining seems to be attracting government interest. Earlier in August, the country’s Ministry of Economy released for public discussion a draft plan to impose a tax rate of 15% on Bitcoin miners. The move is part of efforts by the government to stimulate economic recovery amid the current COVID-19 pandemic. For Bitcoin permabulls, countries such as Iran will look to compete with the United States in a hash war. According to crypto bull Max Keiser, this tussle will catapult Bitcoin to a market price of $500,000. The migration of hash power from “East to West” could cause a significant decrease in China’s Bitcoin mining hash rate dominance. Western miners moving away from Europe’s high operating costs could relocate to North America where the U.S. is emerging as a viable option due to developments in regulation by a number of states. COVID-19 and Bitcoin halving For now, China still dominates the industry, controlling 65% of the hash rate. With the monsoon season underway in China, pundits expect miners to see even greater profitability as electricity becomes abundant. In 2020, the industry has been forced to weather multiple storms including the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the supply of hardware to miners. Following the Bitcoin halving, the spot market price of BTC also failed to see any upward push, forcing smaller mining operations to shut down. Thomas Heller, global business director at Bitcoin mining pool operator F2Pool, revealed the effects of the halving to Cointelegraph. Whit Gibbs, CEO of crypto mining firm Hashr8, echoed similar sentiments, telling Cointelegraph that the post-halving has been brutal: “Obviously anytime you halve the block reward you’re directly impacting a Miner’s bottom line.” He continued: “Add to that the fact that despite months of sideways price action there was also a steady increase in difficulty, it was not a nice few months for Bitcoin miners.” According to Heller, range-bound sideways accumulation also played a big part. [Read Full Newsletter]( The post [Iran One-Ups the United States? Tehran Seeks Crypto Mining Dominance]( appeared first on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ [Bitcoin Price Continues Rally, Positive Sentiment Is Off the Charts]( Since late July, positive tweets about Bitcoin have increased substantially, signifying growing interest in its price. In the past couple of weeks, the Bitcoin (BTC) price has resurged after months of apparent monetary stagnation. Since July 23, the value of a single Bitcoin has risen by around 20%. Not only that, after trading sideways since its supply squeeze in early May, the premier currency broke through its all-important $10,000 psychological threshold, thus leading many casual investors to once again jump back on the crypto hype train. Bitcoin’s recent price hike has also resulted in a retail boom, with a whole host of trading platforms across the world reporting sky-high Bitcoin trading volumes. As a result of this bullish market activity, Joe DiPasquale, prominent crypto pundit and CEO of BitBull Capital, recently stated that this latest surge is once again building up an element of FOMO, or fear of missing out, among casual investors who believe they might be late to the crypto party. Echoing a somewhat similar sentiment, Joshua Frank, co-founder and CEO of The Tie — a provider of data aggregation tools — commented to Cointelegraph that historically speaking, volatility has driven significant new waves of interest and investors into Bitcoin, particularly with the most recent run from $9,000 to $12,000. Frank outlined that the 30-day average number of Twitter users discussing Bitcoin has spiked from 24,000 to 30,000 over the last two weeks. Denis Vinokourov, head of research at BeQuant, a crypto exchange and institutional brokerage service, told Cointelegraph that since volatility picked up, his firm has observed trade volumes jumping by about 40% from where daily summer averages were prior to this recent rally. Top cryptocurrencies are mobilizing fast Cointelegraph also discussed the recent market action with Adam Vettese, market analyst at cryptocurrency trading and investment platform eToro. He pointed out that since crypto prices began rallying at the end of July, the number of crypto positions being opened increased by 115% versus the previous fortnight. Over the same time period, trading volume in crypto instruments also increased by 162%. The number of Bitcoin positions opened increased by 222% with a 421% rise for Ether (ETH) and 170% for XRP. Christophe Michot, sales director at digital asset trading platform CrossTower also claimed that over the course of the past couple of weeks, his firm has observed a 219% increase in daily trading volume as well as a 66% rise in the number of daily average signups over the same time period. Michot also highlighted that since the pullback in mid-March, the market as a whole has experienced a strong bullish reversal. For example, Bitcoin has regained over 210% and Ethereum bounced by 364% since the “Black Thursday” crash of March 11, 2020. The crypto market rally has come on the heels of positive news such as the U.S. OCC’s recent clarification permitting the custody of Bitcoin by banks as well as the announcement of another stimulus package to be issued by the Fed in the near future, which some experts believe will continue to devalue the U.S. dollar. People’s sentiment regarding crypto is soaring On July 12, Bitcoin’s long-term sentiment score — a comparison of investor sentiment over the last 50 days vs. the prior 200 — hit a new all-time high leading up to Bitcoin’s run at the end of the month. Similarly, the daily sentiment score represents a measure of how positive or negative conversations on Twitter have been about a particular coin over the last 24 hours vs. the previous 20 days. The daily sentiment score of investors has remained positive (above 50) every day from July 20 to Aug. 1. Even after Bitcoin failed to surpass the $12,000 mark and retraced by $1,400, investor sentiment fell below 50 for only about 28 hours, alluding to the fact that investors have remained extremely positive on Bitcoin. Frank told Cointelegraph that approximately 68% of all tweets discussing the long-term financial future of Bitcoin over the past month have been positive. Similarly, Michot added that according to CrossTower’s media data, the market is in the early stages of a new bull run, adding: “Another positive sentiment is coming from family offices and other traditional advisory firms. These firms are seeing increased demands by clients seeking exposure to the cryptocurrency markets.” Other crypto-related offerings are also flying high Since the start of the recent crypto surge, there has been a spike in the use of stablecoins along with a clear increase in demand for other DeFi-related tokens. John Todaro, director of institutional research at TradeBlock, a trading platform for institutional investors, told Cointelegraph. Todaro added that while merchant adoption still remains limited for stablecoins, there is real demand for these assets in developing economies as well as those with political instability, such as in Latin America, parts of the Middle East, and to an extent, Hong Kong. He also noted that derivatives volumes have spiked recently (at Deribit, CME and others), but a large portion of that is tied to price action, as increased volatility almost always tends to drive increased trade volumes. Vinokourov believes that the recent spell of low volatility and thin trading volumes has evolved into one of the busiest periods for digital assets in recent memory: “Volumes on spot and derivatives venues spiked higher as Bitcoin traded over $11,000, and other large cap assets followed in lockstep.” BTC Fear and Greed Index’s correlation with its price Another aspect worth exploring is the relationship that may or may not exist between Bitcoin’s Fear and Greed Index and its price, and if the metric can suggest a possible price direction. Expounding his views on the matter, Todaro opined that the index is calculated based on a few variables that are, to an extent, affected by price, forcing the index to follow certain niche inputs such as the velocity of price gains, all-time high prices and price momentum, among other parameters. For instance, if there is a large crash in the market, volatility will increase, and the index will conclude that the market has high fear. In doing so, the index ultimately follows the price. Additionally, the index captures Google trends, with high interest in positive crypto-related terms meaning high greed. Therefore, Todaro believes that the index can be used to make current and future investment decisions. Furthermore, Greenspan noted that even a peak of 0.6 only represents a very loose correlation, adding, “Many stocks have a very high correlation with each other, usually above 0.8 even if they’re in completely different industries, and many altcoins are similar.” [Read Full Newsletter]( The post [Bitcoin Price Continues Rally, Positive Sentiment Is Off the Charts]( appeared first on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ [Bitcoin Has Held Over $10k for Nearly Two Weeks: What Happens Now?](  This year has been a big one for Bitcoin: after a spectacular price crash in March, BTC managed to hold levels between $8,500 and $9,800 for nearly three months, occasionally kissing $10,000. Never before had Bitcoin managed to sustain something so close to $10,000 for such a long time. Now, however, it seems as though $10,000 may be in Bitcoin’s rearview mirror for some time to come: on Monday, July 27th, Bitcoin broke past the $10,000 marker and hasn’t looked back since. In fact, Bitcoin’s now seems to be courting the $12k resistance level. Since Tuesday, July 28th, Bitcoin has been dancing between $11,200 and $11,800 and has occasionally reached alllllllmost up to $12k (according to CoinMarketCap), or even past it (on certain exchanges). Now, some analysts are identifying $50k as Bitcoin’s next major target. What’s driving this latest bull run? Will Bitcoin keep up its momentum, or will BTC once again fall below $10k? Many experts within the cryptocurrency space seem to agree that there are several main factors that are pushing BTC upward: primarily among these, however, is global economic instability. Indeed, Marie Tatibouet, chief marketing officer at cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io, told Finance Magnates that the price of Bitcoin may have been boosted by “the current situation of the world.” This includes “the instability caused by the pandemic, the stock market falling, the US and China market wrestling ‘dollar vs. yuan’, or a big fear of inflation on a global scale, just to highlight some,” she said.Indeed, the economic turmoil that has resulted from the global pandemic has also caused people to reconsider their beliefs about their national currencies, a factor that could also be contributing to Bitcoin’s ascent. For example, Evan Bayless, the operator of WhatIsMoney.info, also pointed out to Finance Magnates that “we as a society are very accustomed to looking at the value of everything in terms of our national currencies: we think that dollars and other major fiat currencies are stable,” he said. The public’s relationship to major world fiat currencies seems to be changing However, “the incredibly fast and drastic response of the Fed and other central banks to the COVID-induced lockdowns (and the subsequent economic fallout) has caused the idea that fiat currencies may not be a consistent yardstick for measuring value to begin to enter the public consciousness,” he said. In other words, the massive amount of quantitative easing that the United States central bank decided to do earlier in the year seems to have shaken the public perception of the almighty dollar and other major fiat currencies. Therefore, Bitcoin may be capitalizing off of its functionality as an inherently scarce asset: “as central banks continue to pump liquidity in the system, investors are looking for anything that has a limited supply and cannot be debased,” Evan Bayless told Finance Magnates. “This is why you’re seeing blue-chip stocks, gold, and bitcoin seeing massive rises with other assets following suit, in accordance with how easy it is for producers to create more of the asset and push the price back down. We are seeing a scramble for asset preservation.” Gate.io’s Marie Tatibouet also believes that the current public discussion about the nature of money may be benefiting Bitcoin: “Bitcoin was created as an alternative option, and its price movements are proof of how more and more investors are opting for that alternative.” Is Bitcoin headed to $50,000? However, it’s unclear whether or not the momentum that Bitcoin seems to have gained from the global events of this year will continue into the future. Now that Bitcoin seems as though it may have stabilized above $10k, a number of Bitcoin-bullish commentators and analysts seem to have focused in on a new target: $50,000. The traders who bought these options were essentially paying “$1,000 for the privilege of purchasing Bitcoin 440% above the current price in 18 months”–another factor that seems to demonstrate a strong belief that Bitcoin is on its way up to $50k. And at the moment, things do look positive for Bitcoin’s future: Sergei Khtirov, founder and chief executive of Listing.Help, told Finance Magnates that currently, “[…] there are still huge volumes on the market, and the market is constantly fueled by positive news and the growth of other cryptocurrencies.” Bitcoin has lost momentum over $10k before Still, though, as good as $12,000 may feel for the moment, it may be too soon to say that Bitcoin will hit $50k anytime within the next 12-24 months. Indeed, “the $50,000 mark for Bitcoin is still far enough away,” Khitrov told Finance Magnates. In other words, there are plenty of steps on the road from $12k to $50k: for example, “in our opinion, the previous resistance level at $14000 may be tested in the second half of this year, Khitrov said. And, of course, there is still a good chance that Bitcoin’s current momentum above $10k could come to a screeching halt–and even reverse. “It is always possible that a ‘Bart Simpson’ trading pattern will be repeated in case of negative news on the market,” Khitrov said. “In this case, a retest of the level of $10,000 is quite possible, which remains a significant psychological benchmark. Falling below it will mean the end of the recent bull run.” After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that Bitcoin seemed as though it was there to stay over $10k before falling back to much lower levels. For example, throughout much of June, July, and August of 2019, the price of Bitcoin sat comfortably above $10k, at one point reaching as high as roughly $13,500. Effect on altcoins On the other hand, though, “in 2015, Bitcoin reaching $100 seemed unrealistic,” Worsley pointed out. “Now, a price that low is unimaginable.” Therefore, Worsley believes that just as Bitcoin could fall back below $10k again, it’s also possible that “Bitcoin could easily hit $50k.” After all, “the pandemic is far from over and more and more people are now learning about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.” And indeed, it does seem as though more people than ever are interested in learning about and investing in cryptocurrencies as a way to make extra money: a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and fintech apps that support cryptocurrency trading have reported high numbers of new users over the past several months. Increased levels of interest in cryptocurrencies that have developed recently are also evidenced by the altcoin boom that has been taking place: a number of altcoins–particularly in the DeFi sector–have made headlines over the past several months for their positive price performance. Of course, some of the altcoin success seems to be tied with Bitcoin’s performance: “altcoins play a game of cat and mouse with Bitcoin,” Evan Bayless explained. “When Bitcoin surges, traders sell alts into Bitcoin, and vice versa.” [Read Full Newsletter]( The post [Bitcoin Has Held Over $10k for Nearly Two Weeks: What Happens Now?]( appeared first on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ [fb](  [tw]( ------------------ You received this email because you operate or create content for a website/service and based on your website it seemed like this could be important information to you and your users. Want to change how you receive these emails? [Update your preferences]( or [Unsubscribe](