Day: February 5, 2020

Bitcoin Could Hit $13,000 by April 2020, Macro Indicator Shows

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Bitcoin could retest the $13,000 range in the next two months, according to a macro technical indicator. The cryptocurrency’s monthly chart shows that it was trending downwards inside a ‘Falling Wedge.’ It formed lower highs and lower lows, leading to the formation of a contracting price range. As it did, the monthly trading volume of bitcoin also dropped lower, as shown in the graph below. Comparing two XBT/USD Falling Wedges | Source: TradingView.com, BitMEX Heading into January 2020, the bitcoin price broke out of the Falling Wedge range. The move…

App Used in Iowa Caucus Isn’t Mobile Voting, Blockchain Voting App Says

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The application that was recently used in the Iowa Democratic caucus was “not mobile voting,” according to major blockchain voting firm Voatz. The mobile software designed to calculate votes in the Iowa Democratic caucus on Feb. 3 has become the center of discussion after an alleged error in the smartphone app resulted in the Democrats delaying all public reporting of the results of Monday’s caucuses. According to a report by the Associated Press, party officials in Iowa subsequently blamed an unknown “coding issue” with the software that led to producing…

Lightning Labs Raises $10M Series A to Be the ‘Visa’ of Bitcoin

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Lightning Labs has raised $10 million in Series A financing as it gears up to launch its first paid service for merchants looking to accept bitcoin payments. Craft Ventures led the round, with Managing Director Brian Murray joining Lightning Labs’ board of directors. Other investors include Slow Ventures, former Goldman Sachs co-head of securities David Heller, Avichal Garg of Electric Capital and Ribbit Capital.  The funding round suggests some investors see the San Francisco-based startup as one of the few protocol-oriented firms with a prospective business model. “If bitcoin is…

Lightning Labs Raises $10M Series A to Be the ‘Visa’ of Bitcoin

boss

Lightning Labs has raised $10 million in Series A financing as it gears up to launch its first paid service for merchants looking to accept bitcoin payments. Craft Ventures led the round, with Managing Director Brian Murray joining Lightning Labs’ board of directors. Other investors include Slow Ventures, former Goldman Sachs co-head of securities David Heller, Avichal Garg of Electric Capital and Ribbit Capital.  The funding round suggests some investors see the San Francisco-based startup as one of the few protocol-oriented firms with a prospective business model. “If bitcoin is…

BitPay Restores Merchant Payments From Any Bitcoin Wallet Or Exchange

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Bitcoin Payment Processor BitPay reinstated merchant payments against BitPay invoices from any cryptocurrency wallet, app or exchange. This was discontinued after users complained of delays due to network congestion and related high transaction fees at around the time when Bitcoin hit its peak in 2017. At that time, BitPay had in place a payment protocol called “BIP70” and limited the acceptance of payments from only a few Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ether (ETH) wallets. In addition to the BIP70 protocol, the payment processor also added the JSON payment protocol…

Libra Vice Chair Not Worried About the Leavers

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In a chat on the Davos Promenade during last month’s World Economic Forum, Dante A. Disparte, vice chair of the Libra Association, made the case for the consortium-managed cryptocurrency project. Shrugging off recent major corporate exits from the Association, Disparte made the case for Libra as a viable open-source platform for products that enhance financial inclusion. The Libra Association is a consortium of companies working towards the launch of the Libra stablecoin, a cryptocurrency designed by Facebook for the millions of people who don’t have access to banking services. Disparte…

ICE Snaps Up Loyalty Program Provider Bridge2 to Boost Bakkt’s Consumer Play

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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the bitcoin warehouse’s parent company, announced Wednesday it had agreed to acquire Bridge2 Solutions, a loyalty solution provider for both merchants and consumers. Bakkt, in turn, will use its funds from its ongoing Series B fundraising round to acquire Bridge2 and apply its tools to its consumer app. In a statement, Bakkt CEO Mike Blandina wrote, “with the launch of the Bakkt app, we will, for the first time, offer consumers a robust platform to consolidate and use all of their digital assets, from crypto to loyalty…

Bitcoin Price 4-Hour RSI Flips Bullish as Traders Brace for $9.5K

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Bitcoin (BTC) was challenging $9,500 on Feb. 5 as traders continued to be buoyed by bullish short-term charts. RSI exits key flashpoint  Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed BTC/USD making fresh advances during Wednesday trading, gaining 3.7% on the day. At press time, the pair traded near local highs of $9,450, mimicking levels from Feb. 2 and Jan. 31 which in turn represent Bitcoin’s highest since late October.  Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Traders already prepared for gains after Bitcoin defended $9,000 support earlier this week were keen…

Bitcoin Cash Hits Seven-Month High as Altcoins Explode in Tandem

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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) registered a mind-bending price rally on Wednesday as traders moved capital into the altcoin market en masse. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency surged by up to 12.93 percent to establish a new yearly top at $428.80. The move uphill helped BCH’s market cap to swell from $6.87 billion to $7.74 billion, making it the best intraday gainer among the top-10 cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin Cash confirms an uptrend after registering a massive intraday rally on Wednesday | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase Bitcoin Cash’s gains came amidst similarly wild upside moves in the…

Jill Carlson, Meltem Demirors Back $3.3M Round for Non-Custodial Settlement Protocol Arwen

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Arwen, a non-custodial settlement protocol developer, has raised $3.3 million in a funding round including Meltem Demirors at CoinShares and Jill Carlson at Slow Ventures. According to Arwen CEO and co-founder Sharon Goldberg, Slow Ventures led the round, which also included Collaborative Fund, Underscore VC and DG Lab Fund. The funding will help the Boston-based startup expand its non-custodial settlement system, a layer-2 protocol that secures “assets in motion” via atomic swaps, Goldberg said. In simpler terms, Arwen allows users to settle trades via an exchange’s hot wallet without actually…