Sunday, July 1, 2018

Crypto Rallies Through the Weekend

July 1, 2018 Read in Browser
Blockchain Brew
quote-left-filled.pngQUOTE OF THE DAY quote-right-filled.png
"Investment performance is determined more by investor action than investment returns."
- Nick Murray

Happy Sunday! It is now the second-half of 2018, let's hope it is better than the first-half! If the past couple days are any indication it should be!

Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team

MARKETS
COIN PRICE 24H

BTC $6,375.97 -0.68%

ETH $452.524 -0.58%

XRP $0.45761 -2.36%

BCH $734.744 -2.26%

EOS $8.04308 -0.72%

*Information as of 9:30 AM EST


MARKET

Crypto Rallies Through the Weekend

LOOKING DIRE

  • After such a profitable year in 2017, cryptocurrency investors were looking forward to 2018, thinking more adoption and awareness would continue to push prices skyward
  • Turns out everyone was way too optimistic, 2018 has been the year of the bear with prices of most currencies dropping around 70% halfway through the year
  • Regulations, hacks, and criticism among other factors have pushed the prices down and crushed the expectations of investors
  • This past week has been especially painful for those still checking Blockfolio and CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin once again broke what people thought was support and dragged the entire market down with it
  • Then on Friday night, for reasons unkown, Bitcoin and the market surged nearly 10%, adding $20 billion to the total market cap in 9 hours

LOOKING FORWARD

  • Entering the second half of 2018, investors are hoping that things can turn around and they get the year that they wished for
  • It seems like Bitcoin has bottomed and responded a few times, a breakout could be on the horizon and the fundamentals are only getting stronger, fees are remaining low on the network and everyday the Lightning Network is progressing

The CEO of BitMex has high expectations for Bitcoin and gave his price prediction:

“[Bitcoin] is one positive regulatory decision away, maybe an ETF approved by the SEC, to climbing through $20,000 or even $50,000 by the end of the year.”

  • In addition to Bitcoin, altcoins are becoming fundamentally stronger also
  • Coins like VeChain, Ontology, and Tezos are making progress on their own networks
  • Hopefully, the rest of 2018 brings greater access to cryptocurrencies for everyone and more fiat pairings so that altcoins can decouple from Bitcoin and reach their true valuations

FOLLOW UP

Bithumb Recovers a Portion of Stolen Funds

HACK

  • On June 20th, Bithumb, a South Korean crypto exchange that is the 6th largest exchange in the world by volume, was hacked and lost over $31 million worth of crypto
  • Prior to the hack, Bithumb noticed a need for upgraded security since the "number of unauthorized access attempts has increased"
  • After the hack occurred Bithumb announced that it will cover all stolen assets, so that its customers do not lose any funds from its mistake

UPDATE FROM BITHUMB

  • Bithumb recently posted an update on the hacking situation, sharing that it has recovered 45% of the stolen funds
  • $17 million of the $31 million remains unrecovered

Bithumb also provided a list of all of the coins taken and their amounts (in wons):

ecxtgvX.png
  • Deposits and withdrawals remain frozen, but some users are still attempting deposits, Bithumb asks that they stop:

    “We have noticed that despite [sic] that we have officially announced to our customers asking not to make any deposit for the time being, yet deposit orders are still made. We would like to strongly ask our customers not to deposit any fund until the whole process of deposit service reformation is complete and until [a] further announcement is given.”

    Bithumb made sure to thank the community for all of their help:

    “The main reason for the reduction of the damage is due to the ongoing participation, support, and cooperation of cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency foundations across the world. Also, our quick response to the cyber attack by removing cryptocurrencies from hot wallet to cold wallet effectively contributed to reducing the overall damage. At this moment, we will continue our recovery process as well as implementing preventative measures until this incident is fully resolved.”


PREDICTION

Venture Capital Firm Says that Cryptocurrencies Can Be Worth Trillions

UNION SQUARE VENTURES

  • Union Square Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in New York City and oversees over a billion dollars in assets
  • The firm is owned and operated by Fred Wilson, who has a stellar investing track record, investing in companies like Twitter, Tumblr, Zynga, Etsy, and Coinbase
  • Union Square Ventures has established itself as the leading Venture Capital firm for blockchain startups

PARTNER SPEAKS OUT

  • Albert Wenger, a managing partner at Union Square Ventures, recently was interview by CNBC to talk about the firms investments in cryptocurrencies
  • Wenger shared that Union Square Ventures has a significant investment in cryptocurrencies and plans to continue investing into the future

Union Square Ventures will be incredibly successful if Wenger's prediction comes to fruition, he said:

“Investors are rationally pouring a lot of money into this sector, because I think people are seeing the winning blockchain here might be worth a trillion, or a couple of trillion dollars. It’s not at all crazy to think that. Certainly, for any one particular project there’s an extremely high chance it won’t work. As a result, if it works, the rewards will be very high.”

  • He also gave advice to investors saying that they should not only hold Bitcoin and be careful investing as it is a very risky market

MORE BREWING
  • After Many Months of Delay Tezos Launches Betanet
  • $700 Million Crypto Ontology Goes Live
  • Payments Company Qiwi Creates Crypto Investment Bank

TODAY IN CRYPTO
1321.png
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
PoC of new StateDB layer & Emerald Mobile Wallet
2099.png
ICON (ICX)
ICX/ETH Decentralized exchange
1904.png
VeChain (VEN)
VeChain launching their mainnet. VeChain holders will also generate THOR as part of staking rewards every day after this release.
1808.png
OmiseGO (OMG)
"Honte (OmiseGO network preparation for Plasma) is currently on course to be delivered in Q1 to Q2 of 2018"
1214.png
Lisk (LSK)
Lisk is going to launch Custom tokens & dApp registration.
693.png
Verge (XVG)
Verge social network will be launched in Q2 2018 .
1343.png
Stratis (STRAT)
Full Node GUI Mainnet Beta release built on feedback from Alpha release on December.
109.png
DigiByte (DGB)
Artis Turba exchange releases in June, partnered with and listing DGB.
1343.png
Stratis (STRAT)
The Breeze Wallet with Privacy Protocol has progressed through various internal test phases that focused on further testing of the protocol.
1343.png
Stratis (STRAT)
"Courses continue to be developed for the Stratis Academy and will be released during this [Q1 & Q2] period."

Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com


COIN OF THE DAY
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RED (RED)
The Red community is building the world's first fullstack and blockchain language. RED tokens will drive the development of those technologies, and a blockchain-powered future. RED is a utility token, which can be used within the Red community.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | REDDIT

MEME
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SUBSCRIBE | FEEDBACK | ADVERTISE
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The above is not intended to be investment advice.
1317 8th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
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Copyright © 2018 Blockchain Brew, All rights reserved.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Over 1,000 Cryptocurrencies are “Dead Projects”

June 30, 2018 Read in Browser
Blockchain Brew
quote-left-filled.pngQUOTE OF THE DAY quote-right-filled.png
"Diversification is most needed when its least wanted."
- Robert Arnott

Happy Saturday! Well, we are halfway 2018. Cheers to continued progress and making the second half of 2018 special. Have a great weekend Brew Crew!

Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team

MARKETS
COIN PRICE 24H

BTC $6,410.60 +8.79%

ETH $456.646 +11.05%

XRP $0.470349 +9.12%

BCH $753.106 +14.26%

EOS $8.13898 +11.9%

*Information as of 9:30 AM EST


RESEARCH

Over 1,000 Cryptocurrencies are “Dead Projects”

CRYPTO GRAVEYARD

  • According to research done by Coinopsy and Dead Coins, it is estimated that there are 1,000 cryptocurrency projects that have been abandoned
  • These 1,000 projects total to billions of dollars raised of BTC and ETH
  • This proves how investors were caught in the Blockchain craze, investing in coins that have no real use case or development effort backing them
  • These type of projects are the reason a lot of critics call cryptocurrencies a bubble and why federal agencies have stepped in to protect delusional investors from investing in projects that are destined to die

Aaron Brown, a writer for Bloomberg commented:

“There has obviously been significant fraud and hype in the ICO market. I have seen 80 percent of ICOs were frauds, and 10 percent lacked substance and failed shortly after raising money. Most of the remaining 10 percent will probably fail as well.”

IS THIS BAD?

  • Yes, investors have lost millions investing in projects that end up worth nothing, but projects going to zero may not necessarily be a bad sign for the entire space
  • While people complain about coins with no real use case or trying to solve all problems with blockchains, this behavior is common among new disruptive technologies
  • It is impossible to tell with certainty all of the use cases where Blockchain can be implemented without trying, therefore it is at least worth the effort to develop Blockchain for all use cases and see where it actually works
  • That being said, there are still projects out there with the sole purpose to scam investors, it is important that investors do due diligence on projects that they are investing in

NEWS

Chief Economist Says Bitcoin is a Buy at $5,000

$5K TARGET

  • As Bitcoin swung below $6,000 on Friday, Chief Economic Advisor at financial services company Allianz, Mohamed El-Erian, appeared on CNBC sharing that he will consider buying Bitcoin if it price gets down to $5,000
  • El-Erian believes that Bitcoin will be one day used as a store of value, seeing the cryptocurrency as more of a commodity than a currency

He also went on to call the December price surge as “pure speculation” and said he doesn’t expect it to get back to that level anytime soon:

"I don't think you get all the way back to $20,000, but I do think that you need to establish a base whereby the people who really believe in the future of Bitcoin consolidate and then that provides you a lift."

El-Erian gave his opinion that if cryptocurrencies are to last, they will need to make some changes saying:

"I suspect that if you look 10 to 15 years down the road, we will have digital currencies, but the public sector will have involvement in that. It will not be pure Bitcoin. But the blockchain technology, take that seriously."

  • He also warned that there is too much hype surrounding the space and that adoption will happen much slower than people are currently expecting

PARTNERSHIP

Huobi Signs Cooperation Agreement with JD Cloud to Develop Blockchain and Cloud Computing

PARTNERSHIP

  • According to a press release, Huobi, the world's fourth largest crypto exchange by volume, has signed a cooperation agreement with JD Cloud
  • JD Cloud is a subsidiary of China's massive online retailer JD Group and focuses on cloud computing applications
  • Through this partnership, JD Cloud wishes to explore blockchain's benefits within the cloud computing industry

BLOCKCHAIN CONSULTING

  • As companies make the move to blockchain, they are spending large amounts of funds to research and implement correctly
  • This leaves blockchain-focused companies like Huobi in a valuable position as their knowledge and experience in blockchain is impressive
  • Huobi has recently taken advantage of this blockchain consulting role with numerous partnerships just this year
  • Most recently, Huobi partnered with Korea University to bring blockchain education to the academic world

RESEARCH

PwC Report Confirms ICO Volume Reached Record Highs in First Half of 2018

ICO RECORD HIGHS

  • In a new joint report released by PwC and Crypto Valley, it was confirmed that in the first half of 2018 ICOs reached record highs despite the market decline
  • The ability to raise capital for entrepreneurs has never been easier and it is apparent that many are taking advantage of this opportunity

According to the report, in half of 2018 so far we have already doubled ICO volume from 2017:

"In total, 537 ICOs with a total volume of more than $13.7 billion have been registered since the beginning of the year. In comparison, in 2017 there were a total of 552 ICOs with a volume of just over $7.0 billion. Also, the average size of an ICO has almost doubled from $12.8 million to over $25.5 million since last year."

REGULATION PROGRESS

  • In addition to the record-breaking ICO numbers, the report also cited the U.S., Singapore, and Switzerland as the most important ICO hubs worldwide
  • These countries were chosen due to progress in regulation and availability of resources

The report also highlighted the interesting differences in ICO regulation in different countries:

"The US uses a centralized system in which all tokens offered by ICO are traded as securities. In Europe, on the other hand, a differentiated regulation prevails. FINMA, for example, classifies tokens into three sub-types: asset, payment and utility tokens, which do not constitute an actual investment but allow the buyer direct access to the product or service of the ICO. Finally, in Asia, regulation is very heterogeneous, ranging from strict prohibition to active promotion of ICO projects."


MORE BREWING
  • $300 Million Dollars Sent in Bitcoin for Just $0.04 USD
  • SharesPost Research: 15X Potential Growth in Valuation of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Startups Over Next 10 Years
  • Japanese Economist Explains Why Another Bitcoin Price Surge Is Unlikely

TODAY IN CRYPTO
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
PoC of new StateDB layer & Emerald Mobile Wallet
ICON (ICX)
ICX/ETH Decentralized exchange
VeChain (VEN)
VeChain launching their mainnet. VeChain holders will also generate THOR as part of staking rewards every day after this release.
OmiseGO (OMG)
"Honte (OmiseGO network preparation for Plasma) is currently on course to be delivered in Q1 to Q2 of 2018"
Lisk (LSK)
Lisk is going to launch Custom tokens & dApp registration.
Verge (XVG)
Verge social network will be launched in Q2 2018 .
Stratis (STRAT)
Full Node GUI Mainnet Beta release built on feedback from Alpha release on December.
DigiByte (DGB)
Artis Turba exchange releases in June, partnered with and listing DGB.
Stratis (STRAT)
The Breeze Wallet with Privacy Protocol has progressed through various internal test phases that focused on further testing of the protocol.
Stratis (STRAT)
"Courses continue to be developed for the Stratis Academy and will be released during this [Q1 & Q2] period."

Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com


COIN OF THE DAY
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Nebulas (NAS)
Nebulas is a next generation public blockchain, aiming for a continuously improving ecosystem. Based on its blockchain valuation mechanism, Nebulas proposes future-oriented incentive and consensus systems, and the ability to self-evolve without forking.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | REDDIT

MEME
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SUBSCRIBE | FEEDBACK | ADVERTISE
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The above is not intended to be investment advice.
1317 8th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
If you don't absolutely love us, drop us, click here.
Copyright © 2018 Blockchain Brew, All rights reserved.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Week 26: Komodo's Five Bullet Friday.

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