Category: Crypto News

Ethereum Founder Discourages Buying Crypto With Loans

Post author By Ibiam Wayas
Post date December 15, 2020

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the second-largest blockchain network, doesn’t fancy the idea of purchasing digital currencies, like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), with personal loans. Judging by his statement on Twitter today, Buterin believes that betting on the future price of cryptocurrencies with borrowed funds isn’t worth the risk. Although taking loans to invest in certain assets is so common for many people, it’s quite on a high-risk side in crypto, due to volatility.

Please don't do things like this. I would NEVER recommend anyone take out a personal loan to buy ETH or other ethereum assets. pic.twitter.com/zCbbtUlvtQ
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 14, 2020

Buterin’s take on buying crypto with loans

First of all, Buterin made his thoughts known after seeing a tweet from a Bitcoiner on December 20. In the tweet, the Bitcoin investor jokingly said he took out about US$46,250 loan at 7.9 percent, to purchase about 2.55 Bitcoin. At the due time (2026), the investor predicted that the cryptocurrency would surpass US$22,000 per BTC. Someone else responded to the tweet, asking how to get through with his loan.

Perhaps, this attracted the attention of the Ethereum co-founder, who discouraged the whole idea. More like a warning, Buterin wrote:

“Please don’t do things like this. I would NEVER recommend anyone take out a personal loan to buy ETH or other ethereum assets. […] 7 years ago, before ethereum even began, I had only a few thousand dollars of net worth. I nevertheless sold half my bitcoin to make sure that I would not be broke if BTC went to zero.”

The Ethereum co-founder, meanwhile, boasts of an estimated net worth of $400 million to $500 million currently, following the success of Ethereum network, especially.

But MicroStrategy issues debts to buy Bitcoin

MicroStrategy, a publicly-traded business intelligence company, has been bullishly stacking lots of Bitcoin on its reserve in recent months. Some weeks ago, the company issued about US$550 million in debt to purchase more Bitcoin. When asked about his opinion on this, in regards to his statement, Buterin replied:

“Isn’t the microstrategy thing just them trying to turn their company into a de-facto bitcoin ETF for regulatory arbitrage purposes?”

Tags Vitalik Buterin

Lumi Becomes Latest Crypto Wallet to Support Apple Pay

Post author By Ibiam Wayas
Post date December 14, 2020

cLeading digital currency wallet, Lumi, announced on Friday a new software update that will enable customers to purchase cryptocurrencies through Apple Pay, the digital payment platform of Apple Inc. This comes as an addition to the already-existing payment options available for the users, making buying and trading of cryptos easier on the platform.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that the parent company of Apple Pay is seemingly not a big fan of cryptocurrencies, judging their past actions on crypto-related services.

Apple Pay Lessens KYC Procedures in Buying Crypto

As reported, the integration of Apple Pay on the crypto wallet reduces the need for the customers to provides know-your-customer (KYC) verifications before transacting cryptos on the platform. Lumi noted that the new payment method would be available in 60 countries, including Australia. However, users can only buy the supported cryptos – Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and more – at $1,000 and $7,500 as the daily and weekly limit, respectively.

While commenting on the integration, Lumi said “this step has opened access to an alternative purchase option for hundreds of thousands of users around the world. […] Lumi Wallet’s iOS users will be able to choose a new option to buy crypto using Apple Pay.”

Apple Pay simplifies the crypto purchasing process as users no longer need to verify their details since they already have an account with Apple Pay wallet.

But, Apple is not a fan

The technology giant, Apple had once introduced a regulation that banned many crypto apps for mining on the Apple store. Recently in September, the founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong took to his Twitter handle to accused the company of making innovations in the cryptocurrency space very stiff. Crypto companies are “reluctant to speak out on these topics for fear of retaliation,” he added.

Meanwhile, many industry players, including the CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, predicted that the tech giant would eventually make a large scale investment in Bitcoin in the future.

#Apple could generate $100 billion or more in shareholder value if they integrated #Bitcoin into Apple Pay, built a secure crypto wallet into the iPhone, and began buying #BTC with their Treasury Reserves. h/t @ETFProfessor https://t.co/zqDNuFskeY
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) November 11, 2020

Tags Apple

Crypto News Litecoin Market Analysis NEO Ripple Trading

Altcoins Trading Analysis – 3 Coins that Might Breakout Today: XRP, LTC, NEO

Post author By Malik Junaid
Post date December 14, 2020

Market Analysis

For today’s trading news, we’re looking at three altcoins that might breakout by showing bullish trends in the charts.

1. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network created by Ripple Labs Inc., a US-based technology company.

XRP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XRP is ranked 3rd cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $0.6960 AUD AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

If we see the above 2-hour candle chart, we are moving in a symmetrical triangle, just tested the lower support line of this triangle, and we can expect the movement to the upper resistance line. If we breakout from this ABCDE triangle pattern, XRP might start a new bullish trend.

“A symmetrical triangle is a chart pattern characterized by two converging trend lines connecting a series of sequential peaks and troughs. Trend lines that are converging at unequal slopes are referred to as a rising wedge, falling wedge, ascending triangle, or descending triangle.”

2. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency created by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, in 2011. The cryptocurrency was created based on the Bitcoin protocol, but it differs in terms of the hashing algorithm used, hard cap, block transaction times, and a few other factors.

LTC Price Analysis

At the time of writing, LTC is ranked 5th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $107.69 AUD AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

If we see the above 1-day candle chart, Litecoin LTC is forming a rising wedge pattern by making higher-highs as resistance, if LTC bounces back from the blue support line and breaks the previous resistances it can continue the bullish trend with massive gains on different trading pairs like LTC/BTC or LTC/USDT.

“A rising wedge is a technical indicator, suggesting a reversal pattern frequently seen in bear markets. This pattern shows up in charts when the price moves upward with pivot highs and lows converging toward a single point known as the apex.”

3. Neo (NEO)

Neo bills itself as a “rapidly growing and developing” ecosystem that has the goal of becoming the foundation for the next generation of the internet a new economy where digitized payments, identities, and assets come together. Initially known as Antshares, this project was believed to be China’s first-ever public blockchain when it was launched in February 2014. The open-source platform subsequently rebranded to Neo three years later.

NEO Price Analysis

At the time of writing, NEO is ranked 23rd cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $22.81 AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

NEO is testing the weekly trendline and monthly structure. If NEO bounces back from the support and breaks the previous resistance at $24.06 AUD & $29.50 AUD respectively, we can see the bullish uptrend in prices for NEO on different trading pairs like NEO/BTC or NEO/USDT.

NEO has been in a consolidation period since breaking the $20.45 AUD price levels , looking for a delayed bullish run after watching bitcoin sit & close above higher highs with other altcoins market trends.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These 3 Altcoins have the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading USDT or BTC pairs. However, if you’re just looking at buying some quick and hodling then Swyftx Exchange is a popular choice in Australia.

Crypto News DeFi

Report: Non-financial Risks in Decentralized Finance Investors Should Know

Post author By Ibiam Wayas
Post date December 14, 2020

The decentralized finance (DeFi) market is faced with other risks than investors losing their money due to price fluctuation. BNC Research, which focuses on digital currencies, revealed the non-financial threats in the DeFi market, showing just how the industry is still nascent. So, there’s an uphill battle for the industry to face before it becomes even safer for mainstream adoption.

Meanwhile, it’s worth commending the developments so far in the decentralized finance industry. Since 2020, the industry has recorded more investors and protocol developments, which was fueled by the recent yield farming craze. At the time of writing, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi market had reached $14.1 billion, according to DeFi Pulse.

Other DeFi Risk Investors Should Know

Besides the common volatility issues with cryptocurrencies in general, BNC mentioned “scalability” as another risk investors should worry about in DeFi. Notably, Ethereum is the root network for DeFi, and scalability is one of the concerns with the current version. As Ethereum 2.0 – a more scalable version of the blockchain – is years away, BNC said that the network is likely to get congested as more people flock to DeFi.

Congestion of the network would cause higher transaction fees, as was seen during the rush in DeFi some months ago. Also, there are chances that many DeFi applications might be forced to shut down due to higher transaction fees. One other concern is smart contract vulnerabilities. In recent months, many new protocols were exploited by hackers due to bugs/flaws in the coding. It was estimated that tens of millions of dollars had been lost this year to hackers.

Another problem relates to price oracles used by DeFi protocols. There are times where these oracles provide outdated and inaccurate price updates. Bad actors can exploit this weakness, especially if the oracles post a price for an asset that is higher than the actual market value. BNC Research also mentioned poor design and coding as a problem, adding that these challenges and more, need to be addressed to prepare the room for DeFi mainstream adoption.

Tags DeFi

Crypto News Market Analysis Trading

DForce Breakout Analysis – Parabolic Breakout on DF with +76% Gains in a Single Day

Post author By Malik Junaid
Post date December 14, 2020

Breakout Analysis

DForce DF is flipping on a 1-hour candle chart, DF just went up over +76% in a single day. Let’s take a quick look at DF, price analysis, and possible reasons for the recent breakout.

What is DForce?

DF is the platform utility token of the DForce network, an integrated and interoperable DeFi platform. It will be used for transaction services, community governance, system stabilizer, incentivization, and validator deposits.

DForce Quick Stats

SYMBOL:	DF
Global rank:	414
Market cap:	$19,107,370 AUD
Current price:	$0.2100 AUD
All time high price:	$1.56 AUD
1 day:	+76.41%
7 day:	+107.70%
1 year:	+148.74%

DForce Price Analysis

At the time of writing, DF is ranked 414th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $0.2100 AUD. This is a +107.70% increase since 5th December 2020 (7 days ago) as shown in the chart below.

Source: TradingView

If we see the above 1-hour candle chart, DF did a strong breakout from the falling wedge pattern & is now heading towards its major resistance of the month. After BTC crashed the Altcoins market today with a -3% drop in its price, DF looks well-positioned to hit the next high price levels.

“The Falling Wedge is a bullish pattern that begins wide at the top and contracts as prices move lower. This price action forms a cone that slopes down as the reaction highs and reaction lows converge.”

What do the technical indicators say?

The DForce TradingView indicators (on the 1 day) mainly indicate DF as a buy, except the Oscillators which indicate DF as a neutral.

So Why did DForce Breakout?

The recent rise in Bitcoin over 100% since the halving in May and then the suggested start of the Altcoin season could have contributed to the recent breakout. Another reason for this sudden pump in price could be the whales secretly buying Dforce for the next Altcoins rally & it could also be contributed to some of the recent events & announcement where Binance Lists DForce DF.

#Binance Will List @dForcenet $DF in the Innovation Zonehttps://t.co/YdvuGQk6Gy
— Binance (@binance) December 11, 2020

Recent DForce News & Events:

04 July 2020 – C-S Blockchain Summit
04 December 2020 – Ecosystem Update
11 December 2020 – Binance Innovation Zone

Where to Buy or Trade DForce?

DForce has the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading DF/BUSD or DF/ETH pairs. However, you can also buy DForce from different exchanges listed on Coinmarketcap.

Crypto News Market Analysis Nucleus Vision Trading

Nucleus Vision Breakout Analysis – Parabolic Breakout on NCASH with +51% Gains in a Week

Post author By Malik Junaid
Post date December 14, 2020

Nucleus Vision was trading sideways on a 4-hour candle chart and it just went up over +51% in a week by breaking all previous resistances. Let’s take a quick look at NCASH, price analysis, and possible reasons for the recent breakout.

What is Nucleus Vision?

Launched in 2014, Nucleus Vision, also known as NCash, aims to bridge the divide between the online and offline retail world. The project is an IoT-based, contactless identification system that enables retailers to identify and better serve their customers by using customer’s records to make precise decisions on product preferences without the use of WiFi or Bluetooth.

NCASH Quick Stats

SYMBOL:	NCASH
Global rank:	714
Market cap:	$7,190,556 AUD
Current price:	$0.0010 AUD
All time high price:	$0.0680 AUD
1 day:	+26.41%
7 day:	+51.73%
1 year:	+99.35%

NCASH Price Analysis

At the time of writing, NCASH is ranked 714th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $0.0010 AUD. This is a +51.73% increase since 7th December 2020 (7 days ago) as shown in the chart below.

Source: TradingView

After looking at the above 4-hour candle chart, we can clearly see that NCASH was trading inside the inverse head and shoulders pattern on the NCASH/ETH pair. The first resistance was on the $0.0008 AUD price level which NCASH broke with a strong bullish trend buying volume and is now heading towards the previous monthly resistance. Seeing that many altcoins are waking up bullish today, NCASH is likely to continue to increase.

“An inverse head and shoulders pattern is comprised of three component parts: After long bearish trends, the price falls to a trough and subsequently rises to form a peak. … The price falls for the third time, but only to the level of the first trough, before rising once more and reversing the trend.”

What do the Technical indicators say?

The NCASH TradingView indicators (on the 1 day) mainly indicate NCASH as a buy, except the Moving Averages which indicate NCASH as a strong buy.

So Why did NCASH Breakout?

The recent rise in Bitcoin over 100% since the halving in May and then the suggested start of the Altcoin season could have contributed to the recent breakout. Another reason could be the whales, secretly stacking up NCASH to their portfolio for this Altcoin rally. It could also be contributed to some of the recent news for Point-Of-Sale Financing.

Customer buying behaviour has been changing after the onset of COVID-19
There has been a steep rise in point-of-sale loans to meet customer demands
Here are options for retailers considering Point-Of-Sale Financing to win and keep customershttps://t.co/FB4w09T8MQ $ncash #defi
— Nucleus Vision (@NucleusVision) November 29, 2020

Recent NCASH News & Events:

30 March 2020 – Deterrent Controls
30 June 2020 – Recovery Controls
30 September 2020 – Corrective Controls
30 December 2020 – Recovery Controls

Where to Buy or Trade NCASH?

Nucleus Vision has the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading NCASH/BTC or NCASH/ETH pairs. However, you can also buy from other different exchanges listed in Coinmarketcap.

Crypto News Initial Coin Offering Market Analysis Trading

Hard Protocol Breakout Analysis – HARD Gains +21% in a Day on Binance Launchpad

Post author By Malik Junaid
Post date December 14, 2020

After the launch of Hard Protocol on Binance Launchpad, HARD was trading sideways with strong buying volume and took a breakout today with +21% gains. Let’s take a quick look at HARD, price analysis, and possible reasons for the recent breakout.

What is Hard Protocol?

HARD Protocol is a decentralized money market built on Kava, enabling the lending and borrowing of cross-chain assets. HARD Protocol supports supply-side deposits for BTC, XRP, BNB, BUSD, and USDX. The platform will allow overcollateralized borrowing for supported assets.

HARD Quick Stats

SYMBOL:	HARD
Global rank:	289
Market cap:	$43,643,209 AUD
Current price:	$1.23 AUD
All-time high price:	$1.59 AUD
1 day:	+21.2%
7 day:	+56.7%
1 year:	+78.3%

HARD Price Analysis

At the time of writing, HARD is ranked 289th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $1.23 AUD with an All-time +78.3% increase since the launch of its ICO at Binance Launchpad. Have a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

After the launch of HARD on Binance Launchpad, It pumped up to $3.95 AUD having +296% gains in just a few hours and the initial opening price of HARD was $0.83 AUD at Binance Exchange with many different trading pairs like HARD/BTC, HARD/BUSD, and HARD/USDT.

Currently, HARD is trading at $1.23 AUD price levels after breaking out the falling wedge pattern in its sideways trend & now HARD is heading towards its all-time high price facing some previous weekly resistances.

What do the technical indicators say?

The HARD TradingView indicators (on the 1 day) mainly indicate HARD as a strong buy, except the Oscillators which indicate HARD as a buy.

So Why did HARD Breakout?

After the opening at Binance Launchpad, mostly ICO’s pumps after going live on exchange for trade and, the recent rise in Bitcoin over 100% since the halving in May and then the suggested start of the Altcoin season could have contributed to the recent breakout. It could also be contributed to some recent news of Hard Margin Trading on Binance.

The world's largest exchange @Binance now offers #HARD isolated margin trading for HARD/BTC & HARD/USDT with 3x leverage.

Now you can buy more $HARD with the same amount of money for the first time! pic.twitter.com/mHwYqZcDND
— HARD Protocol (@hard_protocol) December 10, 2020

Recent HARD News & Events:

30 Oct 2020 – Rebranding of Harvest.io
02 Nov 2020 – Hard Protocol – Binance Research
21 Dec 2020 – Hard Protocol Yield
09 Dec 2020 – Hard Protocol Features in Forbes Crypto

Where to Buy or Trade HARD?

Hard Protocol has the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading HARD/USDT or HARD/BTC pairs. However, you can also buy from other different exchanges listed in Coinmarketcap.

Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto News Monero

Hard Times Continue For Privacy Coins

Post author By Cristian Lipciuc
Post date December 14, 2020

A few days ago, LiteBit – a smaller cryptocurrency exchange based in the Netherlands – announced it will be delisting Firo (formerly known as zcoin).

This is only the latest in a string of delistings for privacy coins, with Bithumb, Shapeshift, and other exchanges dropping currencies like Monero within recent memory.

Regulatory Pressure

The delisting of privacy coins is generally a result of smaller exchanges not having the legal and financial resources to explain their risk mitigation strategy to banks – which unfortunately tends to give the idea that privacy coins are simply not compliant with AML standards, according to Firo project steward Reuben Yap.

Japan and South Korea are leading the charge when it comes to the delisting of privacy coins – and Australian exchanges have also been undergoing significant pressure from banks, forcing many exchanges to delist, even if the people behind the exchange may not agree with the policy.

Alex Harper – the CEO of Swyftx – criticized the pressure exerted by banks when it comes to privacy coins.

“While we do not fully align with the hard-line response of banning all privacy-related coins, we will continue to work proactively with our partners and regulators to reduce criminal activity and advance the crypto industry in the most effective ways.”

Even within the European Union, where privacy is a much larger concern – as evidenced by the enactment of the GDPR, heavy restraints set on big tech like Google, Apple and Facebook and more – certain countries, such as France and the Netherlands – have also been recommending a ban on privacy coins.

However, Reuben Yap remains positive about the future of privacy coins.

“Privacy coins will continue to face opposition and challenges along the way, which will heat up as cryptocurrencies start becoming more mainstream. However, just as VPNs, Tor, HTTPS, and end-to-end encrypted messaging are now considered standard protection tools, privacy technology in cryptocurrencies will be considered commonplace, too.”

For now, the conflict over privacy coins is still somewhat limited to smaller exchanges – but due to the nature of privacy coins and their fans, the demise of privacy coins seems unlikely.

Crypto News Market Analysis Trading

Cover Protocol Breakout Analysis – Cover Pumps +42% in a Single Day

Post author By Malik Junaid
Post date December 11, 2020

Breakout

Cover is trading in active uptrend here like many other altcoins. The Cryptocurrency Cover Protocol just went up +42% in a single day and surges over +126% in a week.

What is COVER?

COVER Protocol provides peer to peer coverage with fungible tokens. It lets the market set coverage prices as opposed to a bonding curve. COVER Protocol allows DeFi users to be protected against smart contract risk. It stabilizes the turbulent DeFi space by instilling confidence and trust between protocols and their users. By bridging the gap between decentralized finance and traditional finance, COVER Protocol will open the doors of DeFi to all investors.

COVER Quick Stats

SYMBOL:	COVER
Global rank:	264
Market cap:	$67,431,440 AUD
Current price:	$1,500 AUD
All time high price:	$1,813 AUD
1 day:	+42.5%
7 day:	+126.4%
1 year:	+152.7%

COVER Price Analysis

At the time of writing, Cover is ranked 264th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $1,500 AUD. This is a +126.4% increase since 4th December 2020 (7 days ago) as shown in the chart below.

Source: TradingView

After looking at the above 30-Minute candle chart, we can clearly see that Cover was trading inside the falling wedge pattern on the COVER/BUSD pair. The first resistance was on the $1250 AUD price levels which COVER broke with a strong bullish trend buying volume and is now heading towards the All-time high price. Seeing that many altcoins are bearish today but COVER is likely to continue to increase.

“The falling wedge pattern is a continuation pattern formed when price bounces between two downward slopings, converging trendlines. It is considered a bullish chart formation but can indicate both reversal and continuation patterns – depending on where it appears in the trend”

What do the Technical indicators say?

The Cover TradingView indicators (on the 1 day) mainly indicate COVER as a Neutral.

So Why did Civic Breakout?

The recent rise in Bitcoin over 100% since the halving in May and then the suggested start of the Altcoin season could have contributed to the recent breakout. Another reason could be the whales, secretly stacking up COVER to their portfolio for this Altcoins rally. It could also be contributed to some of the recent news having Initial Implementation of Creame V2 & Cover.

Initial implementations of Cream v2 and Cover are now live at https://t.co/KRit4bIbut!

h/t @chefcoverage from Cover for helping out!@CreamdotFinance @CoverProtocol pic.twitter.com/64ETMmRAAk
— x48 (@x48_crypto) December 9, 2020

Recent COVER News & Events:

30 November 2020 – Coverage for Defi Space
02 December 2020 – Cover Meme Contest
03 December 2020 – MXC Listings
04 December 2020 – Cover/Bor Partnership
10 November 2020 – CoinEx Listings

Where to Buy or Trade Cover?

Cover has the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading COVER/BUSD or COVER/ETH pairs. However, if you’re just looking at buying some quick and hodling then Swyftx Exchange is a popular choice in Australia.