United States of Bitcoin: Illinois Gives Crypto Love While Other States Hate
The United States continues to divide over the issue of cryptocurrency generally and bitcoin in particular. Idaho and Alaska issued crypto investment warnings, while Iowa’s Insurance Division cautions against the digital asset’s “high risk,” and Utah announces “scam” scares. Illinois bucks the worrywarts, however, and is instead crafting legislation that would welcome crypto businesses and innovation.
Illinois Wants No Part of New York’s Bitlicense Overregulation
In a trend-bucking move, legislators in the midwest state of Illinois are trying to craft legislation that would help the state welcome what some in their ranks see as an innovation. “New York went in and over regulated [bitcoin] and what ended up happening was a lot of those companies left the state,” representative Jaime Andrade reminded.
Mr. Andrade was responding to a bureaucratic report declaring bitcoin to not be a currency. It just so happens Mr. Andrade is the Chair of the state’s House Committee on Cyber Security. He’s even, with colleague Mike Zalewski, set up a crypto subcommittee to help better educate the public.
Illinois is also home to the city of Chicago, Frank Sinatra’s kind of town. Birthplace of Jazz. The state was the first to use electric street lighting, and it generates more nuclear power than any other in the US. The state knows cool and useful.
“With myself and Zalewski working on this together,” he continued, “I think we will be able to make sure we protect the consumer, but at the same time, we work with the companies and all the other organizations to make sure the state of Illinois is an inviting environment for this type of technology.”
For his part, Mr. Zalewski says: “We are under tremendous pressure in this state to make government more efficient,” presumably referencing bitcoin’s blockchain database. “This technology has the opportunity to help remake government. That’s what we’re interested in.”
And Chicago, of course, is home to the first bitcoin futures contracts (Cboe and CME). Illinois is well familiar with cutting edge innovation. “The goal of this is not to regulate it in a way that’s going to make people uncomfortable to use it in the future,” Representative Zalewski urged.
The Usual Cannards and Half Truths
Meanwhile, Alaska and Idaho each issued separate warnings about cryptocurrencies. In Idaho, regulators worry too few of its inhabitants fail to “go beyond the headlines and hype to understand the risks associated with investments in cryptocurrencies” before plunking down their hard earned cash.
Alaska’s regulator believes its citizens are just plain confused. “What exactly do I get for my investments?” the regulator asks. “Will it be tangible? Is it kept in some sort of a blockchain? And if it’s in a blockchain, what is a blockchain and how does that operate with your investments?” That, or there might’ve been a contest for how many times a bureaucrat could weave the word blockchain into a quote.
In Iowa, regulators caution: “Investing in cryptocurrencies is not for the faint of heart,” they insist. Cryptos have “an unproven track record and carry a high risk of fraud that should cause consumers to be cautious.”
Finally, Utah minders urge “Utah’s reputation as a technically savvy and connected state makes our population ripe for crypto-currency fraud,” and yet, while “it’s a compliment to our population for being plugged into what’s trending, internet hype can lead to rash decisions”.
What do you think about Illinois? Tell us in the comments below!
Shapeshift Throws Its Support Behind the Bits Standard for Measuring Bitcoin
Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song is on a mission to redefine the default standard for measuring bitcoin. If Song has his way, BTC will be recorded in “bits” by default, with each bit corresponding to one thousandth of a bitcoin. His Bitcoin Improvement Proposal for bits was submitted in December and this week, the plan came a step closer to reality after Shapeshift’s Erik Voorhees threw his weight behind the plan.
The notion of rebranding bitcoin so that the cryptocurrency can be referenced in more relatable amounts is not a new one. Previous suggestions included referring to 0.001 – or one thousandth of a bitcoin – as a millibit. In an op-ed in early December, news.Bitcoin.com wrote:
With BTC/USD now running into five figures – seven if you include decimal points – bitcoin has become unwieldy. It’s time to consider alternative ways of measuring the cryptocurrency, especially when dealing with fractions of a coin.
A couple of weeks later, respected bitcoin developer Jimmy Song began making noises about simply using “bits” instead of millibits, a suggestion which, it was generally agreed, made more sense. Song then formalized this idea into “BIP 176: Utilization of bits denomination” and submitted it to Github.
Other developers swiftly lent their support on Github, with one writing: “I 100% agree this is absolutely needed. I spend more hours in the day explaining how bitcoin is divisible, than I really should be to MBA, and Econ major folks. They just don’t get it. They want to feel they own one whole of something. This is now very apparent with the XRP, ADA, XLM, BTS, DOGE pumps.”
Bits and Pieces
This week, the pieces of Song’s masterplan began slotting together after the developer serenaded the bitcoin community at large. He found support from Erik Voorhees, who tweeted: “I fully support the Bits standard… I’ll talk with my team about how to best start rolling it out.”
Not everyone is enamored with the idea of using bits as the default unit of bitcoin across wallets and exchanges, with some pointing out that one bit is typically what it costs to send BTC now, meaning that a single bit is essentially unspendable. Song is convinced, however, that moving to the bits standard will make the cryptocurrency more accessible to newcomers, to whom a figure such as $17,000 can seem daunting. He’s since petitioned Coinmarketcap for their help, as Song seeks groundswell support for the move to a smaller unit of bitcoin.
Do you support a move to bits as the default unit of bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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Cryptocurrency Valuations Have Created Very Wealthy Founders
Bitcoin has been on a tear for well over a year now, but a few other cryptocurrencies have increased in value far more than BTC. This past week the two digital assets ripple (XRP) and ethereum (ETH) have spiked in value exponentially, making the founders of these projects some of the wealthiest men in the world — Right up there with bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Founders of Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum Are Among the Richest Individuals On Earth
The total market capitalization of all the digital assets combined is currently over $770Bn and is quickly approaching the $1 trillion mark. A bunch of cryptocurrencies have been rising, but four digital assets in particular, bitcoin core, ethereum, ripple, and bitcoin cash as well, have made the founders of these projects very rich. It is believed that at one time Satoshi Nakamoto may have mined over 1 million BTC during the first year the original bitcoin codebase was born. RSK Labs chief scientist, Sergio Lerner, has done quite a bit of research on the fortune of Satoshi Nakamoto. According to Lerner’s report, Nakamoto using a single computer may have mined over 1 million BTC, and none of these coins have ever been spent.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s stash is estimated to be 1 million BTC.
At the time of writing Satoshi’s net worth with all of his BTC reserves is roughly around $16Bn USD. That number does not include the tokens Nakamoto owns from the recent fork last summer creating the digital asset bitcoin cash (BCH). Nakamoto’s BCH reserves gives the creator another $2.6Bn as both assets make the anonymous group or person among the top 200 wealthiest people on earth. Many bitcoin investors are confident with the fact that Satoshi is missing and believe he’s not a threat to the market as far as dumping his coins. Some believe the creator may be a threat in the future if Nakamoto decides to spend those coins. So far, Satoshi has been gone since 2010, and the coins in his possession have not moved since the day they were mined.
Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen is Worth More Than the Founders of Google
Another digital asset market valuation that has grown exponentially is the ripple (XRP) market which is worth over $120Bn USD right now. This makes the co-founder of Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen, to be worth an estimated $50Bn and among the 200 wealthiest individuals in the world. Ripple has been controversial since its inception creating 100Bn XRPs and releasing only 38Bn of these tokens to the general public. Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen, and the other co-founders are in control of a vast majority of the uncirculated XRPs. A 100 billion is a significant number making people leery from investing in the project, especially when over 50Bn are held by the founders. Ripple investors believe the price of XRP gained significantly in value because Ripple Labs promises to keep the ‘founders coin’ in a time-locked escrow.
Chris Larsen the co-founder of Ripple Labs is worth over $50Bn.
ETH Inventor Vitalik Buterin: ‘I Am Not Going to Apologize for Sound Financial Planning’
Vitalik Buterin is worth more than $656Mn USD.
Lastly, the other digital currency founder who is one of the wealthiest individuals on earth is the inventor of ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. Back in 2016, Buterin told the public on the forum Reddit that he held roughly 630,000 ETH. At the moment less than half of the total ETH ever to be released is in circulation which makes Buterin a very wealthy individual holding $656.5Mn worth of ether. However later that year Buterin disclosed that he had sold over 25 percent of his original ETH holdings making his estimated worth roughly $500Mn.
“I’ve sold about a quarter of my ETH — Meh, I am not going to apologize for sound financial planning,” explains Buterin.
Cryptocurrencies Have Created the Largest Transfer in Wealth Since the 1800s
The birth of bitcoin and other digital assets that followed is proving to be one of the largest transfers of wealth since the 1850s when people discovered oil. Cryptocurrencies have made these founders extremely wealthy, and investors of these blockchain tokens don’t seem concerned about the founder’s holdings. To these people, it’s likely that people like Nakamoto, Larsen, and Buterin won’t ‘dump’ their reserves in order to keep the cryptocurrency growing in value. Many individuals and those who are confident in these founders understand that if they did dump their coins on the market, it would be devastating.
What do you think of the founders of these digital currency projects becoming the wealthiest people on earth? Do you think investors should be worried about these vast holdings? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, Sergio Lerner, Techcrunch, and Haberturk.
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Dogecoin Developers Lament Billion Dollar Market Cap Milestone
Following last month’s boom in price, Dogecoin now boasts a total market capitalization of over $1 billion USD. Curiously, the price milestone appears to have garnered criticism from the projects developers and creator – who have criticized the preponderance of speculative considerations within the cryptocurrency markets.
The Dogecoin markets reached the historic 10-figure threshold following DOGE’s 400% price gains that were witnessed during December 2017. As of this writing, the price of the DOGE is testing resistance at the recently established all-time high of approximately $0.0105.
Total Market Capitalization of DOGE from December 2013
Surprisingly, the billion dollar market valuation has garnered criticism from influential figures within the Dogecoin camp. Jackson Palmer, the founder of Dogecoin who left the project in 2015, is reported to have excoriated the current environment of rampant speculation that surrounds most altcoins, stating: “I have a lot of faith in the Dogecoin Core development team to keep the software stable and secure, but I think it says a lot about the state of the cryptocurrency space in general that a currency with a dog on it which hasn’t released a software update in over 2 years has a $1B+ market cap.”
“The fact that most conversations happening in the media and between peers focus on the investment potential is worrying, as it draws attention away from the underlying technology and goals this movement was based [on].”
Dogecoin Developers Weigh In
Patrick Lodder, a developer who works on the Dogecoin project, has argued that the recent bull-market experienced by DOGE is illustrative of the absence of fundamental considerations underpinning the meteoric spikes witnessed by many altcoins. “To me, this proves that we don’t need shiny features or a ton of innovation and even with a conservative – and in my own case completely distracted – development team for a boom,” Mr. Lodder stated.
Doge developer Max Keller also expressed his surprise regarding the current valuation of the Dogecoin markets, stating “It’s a little scary when you work on software that powers a billion dollar network. This is quite the responsibility. And also one of the main reasons why we are so reluctant to just slap any ‘innovative’ tech into the reference client. Still, I am proud of what we achieved and thankful to be part of such a great community.”
Do you think that Dogecoin will continue on its bullish trajectory, or will $0.01 comprise the top? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
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Report Reveals 18% of Investors Buy Bitcoin With Borrowed Money
Just recently the consumer group Lendedu released a report on bitcoin investors who use credit to purchase digital currencies. According to the survey, out of 672 active bitcoin investors polled, 18.15 percent of the participants used a credit card to fund bitcoin purchases.
Out of 672 Surveyed 18 Percent of Lendnedu’s Participants Use Credit Cards to Purchase Bitcoin
Last year’s consumer Nilson report detailed that the world’s outstanding credit card debt has accumulated to over $1 trillion and the debt continues to grow exponentially. With cryptocurrencies trending in popularity, it seems that many investors are purchasing bitcoin on borrowed money — credit cards and loans that bear interest. The consumer survey group, Lendedu, recently published a report that details that 18.15 percent of 672 bitcoin investors surveyed use credit to purchase their bitcoin.
“I used a credit card to fund and purchase,” explains the individuals in the survey who bought bitcoin in this manner.
22 Percent of the Borrowers Are Not Paying Off Their Debts
Lendedu believes the statistics are “quite concerning” as both combined debit and credit card purchases were used by more than half (51.78%) of the respondents. The reason the metrics are concerning the consumer group is because the size of the survey was relatively small compared to the millions of cryptocurrency investors. Furthermore, Lendedu revealed another metric which concerns them even more as the study states:
This was not even the most pressing concern coming from the LendEDU poll. That recognition belongs to this data-point: 22.13 percent of Bitcoin investors did not pay off their credit card balance after purchasing Bitcoin.
Of the 672 investors, 77.87 percent said, “I paid off my credit card balance after purchasing Bitcoin,” while the other 22.13 percent explained, “I did not pay off my credit card balance after purchasing Bitcoin.” However, not all the investors purchased bitcoin on borrowed money, as over 18 percent used ACH transfers, 13 percent used bank wires, and the rest of the respondents used other means of buying bitcoin.
Respondents Say “I Believe Owning Bitcoin Is Worth the Interest Expense”
Lendedu explains the results of the poll shows quite a few investors are not worried about bitcoin’s price volatility, and are willing to gamble returns from bitcoin will pay off credit card debt. “I believe owning bitcoin is worth the interest expense,” revealed over 70 percent of the respondents who used credit cards and interest-bearing loans.
“Additionally, 88.89 percent of that same pool of investors plan on paying off their credit card bill from the money generated after selling their Bitcoin,” explains Lendedu.
The recent survey shows the trend of borrowing money to purchase bitcoin and other digital assets has been growing. Further, just recently news.Bitcoin.com reported on the U.S. securities regulator, Joseph Borg, detailing that many Americans are taking out mortgages to fund their bitcoin investments. Borg says credit cards and equity loans are being used quite often these days to bet big on bitcoin paying off all the investors debts.
What do you think about people borrowing money to pay for bitcoin investments? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, and Lendedu’s recent survey.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that enables near-instant, low-cost payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: transaction management and money issuance are carried out collectively by the network. Read all about it atwiki.Bitcoin.com.
Markets Update: Bitcoin’s Price Re-Captures the $16K Territory
The weekend is coming, and things are looking far more optimistic for bitcoin markets than the last two holiday weekends. BTC/USD market value has jumped considerably since it hit a low of $11,600 across global exchanges with the price now averaging $16,500 per BTC on January 5. Last week a bunch of tokens priced under $5 USD like ripple, stellar, and others had seen exponential rises while BTC markets moved sideways. Today’s BTC spike is seeing many of those coins dip in value by 15-20 percent.
Bitcoin core markets have rebounded over the past two days as each token has gained over $1,000 in value per day. A few days ago when Peter Thiel announced he purchased millions worth of BTC the price jumped from the low $14,000 range to over $15,000 but remained stable until today. Other coins like NEM, ripple, and ethereum saw considerable jumps in value while bitcoin core markets bounced between $14900-15,200 during the last 48 hours. Today is a different story as BTC has risen to a high of $16,500 during the mid-afternoon’s trading sessions.
Today’s most popular trade on Shapeshift with BTC is ETH.
BTC trade volume is considerably strong with over $22Bn worth swapped over the past 24-hours. The most prominent exchanges holding the most volume today are Binance, Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bittrex, and Poloniex. South Korea’s Bithumb and other trading platforms in that region are trading bitcoin, ripple, and other digital assets at a premium. The USD is still the dominant currency traded with BTC at the moment as the currency captures 36 percent. This is followed by the Japanese yen (31%), tether (USDT 10%), the Korean won (10%) and the euro (5.6%). According to Shapeshift, the most traded cryptocurrency with bitcoin at the moment is ethereum.
Technical Indicators
Looking at the charts shows things are looking up for bitcoin core (BTC) markets on January 5. The decentralized currency reached a high of $16,500 but dropped immediately after to $16,300. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) have a very wide gap between the 100 SMA and 200 SMA, indicating bulls are in charge for the short-term. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic oscillators also suggest the path to resistance is currently on the upside.
At press time the price per BTC is $16,400 at 3 pm EDT.
Heavier resistance is currently forming in the $16,800 to $17K range so look for pit stops at these vantage points. On the back side if bears manage to drag the price down some order books show some foundations at $15,800 and $15,500 for the time being. Order books show a much stronger pattern of consolidation has taken place as there is a very strong floor at $15K that should hold for a good portion of the time.
Crypto-Markets Are About to Capture a $1 Trillion Dollar Valuation
There is a mix of action happening as far as other digital asset markets are concerned today. As mentioned above most of the coins that have risen considerably while BTC remained stable are now suffering from price corrections. The second highest valued cryptocurrency ripple (XRP) is down 10 percent as one XRP is $3.07. The token came awfully close to reaching $4 per XRP the day prior. The third largest market cap is held by ethereum (ETH), and the coin hit an all-time high yesterday at over $1,000 per ETH. Ethereum markets are down right now 2.6 percent as each ETH is worth $985. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has had a correlated relationship with BTC prices over the past week and a half. Volume is down a touch at $2.1Bn traded over the past 24-hours while BCH markets are up 4 percent. Each bitcoin cash is now worth $2,557 at press time. Lastly, the top five spot is still held by Cardano (ADA) but markets are down 7 percent with one ADA averaging $1.07.
The top ten cryptocurrency assets.
Optimism is high on all cryptocurrency courts as many digital assets are still very valuable after the holiday dips. Alongside these technical indicators reveal the cryptocurrency ‘perma-bull run’ doesn’t seem like it’s ending anytime soon. The entire cryptocurrency market cap is steadily approaching $1 trillion USD in value and the technology being taken very seriously in the world of finance.
Bear Scenario: If bears manage to muster up some strength they could pull the price back down to the lower $15K region, but it would take a lot at this vantage point. Watch the Displaced Moving Average (DMA) break $15,200 for lower numbers.
Bull Scenario: Buyers are in control and have managed to push prices back into the $16K region. On the global level, some countries are seeing higher averages of above $17K and significant premiums compared to the global spot price. Bulls need to crack the $16,800 region to begin a larger upside battle and above $17K will be difficult as well. If they can break these zones, $18,000 is not too far from sight.
Where do you see the price of bitcoin and other digital assets heading from here? Do you think cryptocurrencies will see more gains? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: Bitcoin price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.”
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitcoin Wisdom, Pixabay, and Bitstamp.
