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Financial Bazookas Revealed – Market Strategists Believe the Fed Will Purchase Stocks Soon

01/04/2020 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may be the only free-market assets left not manipulated by central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve. Since the covid-19 outbreak, the Fed has unleashed a massive arsenal of monetary weapons to combat the effects on the economy. After the significant rate cuts, quantitative easing (QE), and buying mortgage-backed securities, analysts believe the Fed could start purchasing stocks in order to quell the economy.

Also read: US Mortgage Industry Could Collapse as Housing Crisis Looms, Experts Say

The Fed Is Deploying More Than Just a Monetary Policy Bazooka, It’s Unleashing the Whole Arsenal

On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve threw another tool into the financial system by announcing an international repo option in order to curb investors from panic-selling Treasuries. Since the covid-19 outbreak started spreading rapidly throughout the nation, the economy has been hit hard by numerous industry shutdowns across the U.S. After closing borders and shutting down major U.S. industries, the Fed has tried to save the American economy by using a variety of monetary schemes. The Fed has introduced rate cuts, quantitative easing (QE), foreign currency swap lines, discount windows, a Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF), a Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), and a Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF). The aforementioned list just scratches the surface when it comes to the newly introduced schemes the Fed has initiated since the covid-19 outbreak.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the bank’s board of directors have unleashed the big guns citing the covid-19 outbreak as the primary reason to throw unlimited amounts of money at private banks. The Federal Reserve said on March 26 that the central bank recognizes that small financial institutions may need additional time to submit “certain regulatory reports in light of staffing priorities and disruptions caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (covid-19).” In order to give Wall Street some leniency, the Fed “will not take action against a financial institution with $5 billion or less in total assets for submitting its March 31, 2020.”

The Fed also invoked a Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMFLF) and bought $185 billion in mortgage-backed securities. However, all these moves have not helped stock and commodity markets and the mortgage-backed securities purchase threatened the U.S. real estate market. After the Fed bought the mortgage securities it caused a massive margin call and put hundreds of lenders at risk and without capital.

To those of you wondering what the US stock market will do on any given day, just remember, the Fed has unlimited purchasing power to buy it all up. They have 100 percent full control over stocks and they will do whatever they please with it. Goodbye price discovery. The end.

— Heidi (@blockchainchick) March 26, 2020

Despite the adverse effects on the housing market, the Fed is still attempting to insulate the American economy with the central bank’s parlor tricks. The Fed’s new international repo is an unprecedented move by the central bank, as it will provide foreign central banks with the ability to get USD in exchange for U.S. Treasuries. In addition to the international repo, the Fed also revealed it established a temporary FIMA Repo Facility (FRF) to “help support the smooth functioning of financial markets.”

Fed has printed trillion of $ to do what?

To purchase financial assets

-They already are largest holders of real estate in the world
-Have already pushed the short term yields into negative
-They will soon buy out stocks

Don’t fall for dead cat bounce#Buyeroflastresort

— Vinay Jaiswal (@vinayjazzi) March 31, 2020

The Fed’s Next Step Could Be Purchasing Large Quantities of Stocks

Now economists and investors think the Fed’s next move will see the central bank purchasing stocks. Because the American economy is in turmoil, market analysts say that the Fed will likely use this approach soon to bolster the financial system. “If there were any major dislocations, it is clear that they will go into whatever nook and cranny in the market that starts to choke,” chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, Quincy Krosby, told the media on Sunday. The Prudential executive further stated:

We know that when you have choking in one part of the market, you have choking in another part of the market that leads to dislocation. As soon as you cross that line, you are now facing something else that you could conceivably buy.

Members of the Federal Reserve and the Shadow Open Market Committee have already discussed the possibility of the Fed buying stocks to help the economy. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told the committee on March 6 that he thinks the U.S. should “allow the central bank to purchase a broader range of securities or assets.”

The Perfect Storm for Digital Assets Like Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency participants believe that the current economy is the “perfect storm” for censorship-resistant and a mathematically probable financial system. Bitcoin has a lot of benefits to a society that has been having significant problems doing what they want with their own money. In the last six months alone, news.Bitcoin.com has reported on governments and banks in countries like the U.S., Egypt, Lebanon, India, and Germany limiting cash withdrawals. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have better properties than gold during an economic crisis, as analysts have questioned gold’s alleged ‘safe-haven’ status since the 2007-2008 financial catastrophe. It’s a well known that central banks oversaturated bullion markets during those years by using bullion-bank repos just like they do with Treasuries today.

Cryptocurrency markets did decline with everything else under the sun on March 12th, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday.’ The decline has made people assume that BTC and other digital assets have a strong correlation with stocks and equities right now. However, historical data shows digital asset markets have always been non-correlated with stocks, commodities, and equities. A higher correlation during a black swan event (covid-19) doesn’t equate to both markets being tethered together whenever economic environments change.

As the Fed and central banks worldwide pull out every tool they have in the monetary policy toolbox, bitcoiners understand that digital assets cannot be manipulated as easily as fiat currency, property investments, precious metals, and the stock markets. If you have never read or heard about the positive benefits and economic freedom bitcoin can provide, get started today with some of our educational resources.

What do you think about the Fed possibly buying stocks next? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The post Financial Bazookas Revealed – Market Strategists Believe the Fed Will Purchase Stocks Soon appeared first on Bitcoin News.

The Crypto Industry’s $400M Cash and Stock Deal – Binance to Acquire Coinmarketcap.com

31/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

The popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance is allegedly in talks with the owners of coinmarketcap.com in hopes of purchasing the website for $400 million. People familiar with the matter explained the acquisition will be announced this week and could be one of the largest procurements in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry to-date.

Also read: Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up

Binance Will Reportedly Purchase Coinmarketcap.com for $400 Million

Binance has grown quite large since launching in 2017 when the global cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Yi He. The following year in 2018, the exchange was considered the largest in the world in terms of cryptocurrency trading volume. The firm has also acquired the Indian exchange Wazirx, the Beijing-based Dappreview, a derivatives exchange called JEX, Mars Finance, and a digital currency mobile wallet branch called Trust Wallet. Now according to people familiar with the matter, Binance is set to announce another acquisition and it might end up being the largest procurement in the crypto industry so far.

The official story floating around crypto-land is that Binance is close to completing a cash and stock deal with the owners of coinmarketcap.com. The website is one of the most popular cryptocurrency data sites and according to Alexa ratings, coinmarketcap.com is ranked 570 worldwide and 819 in the United States. Coinmarketcap (CMC) gets a lot of traffic from countries like the U.S., India, and Brazil as the site sees millions of users visiting the site regularly. The Binance acquisition of coinmarketcap.com is ostensibly a cash-and-stock deal that involves $400 million. Speculators assume that it will be the largest acquisition within the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry to date. For instance, the coinmarketcap.com transaction would be well over the capital injected into 21 Inc. ($121 million), otherwise known as earn.com.

CMC’s Data Discrepancies and the Crypto Community’s Commentary Concerning the Binance Takeover

Both Binance and coinmarketcap.com have not spoken to the media about the acquisition, but Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao did hint at some upcoming procurements that he was “very excited” about. Coinmarketcap has an interesting history as the owner Brandon Chez kept his identity unknown, up until he was doxxed by the Wall Street Journal on January 23, 2018. Chez also sat down for a fireside chat with the anonymous Sunny King last year during The Capital conference.

Coinmarketcap has had its share of controversy as well and a number of people do not trust the data that stems from the site. The crypto market cap aggregation website was criticized during the first week of January 2018 for delisting the exchange rates of South Korean crypto trading platforms. When cross-referencing coinmarketcap.com’s data with alternative crypto market valuation sites like messari.io, there’s some discrepancies when it comes to “reported” and “real” or onchain trade volumes.

After the Binance acquisition of coinmarketcap.com (CMC) stories hit social media and crypto forums, a great number of digital asset proponents discussed if it would be “good or bad” for CMC. “I don’t like it at all — I guess I’ll continue to use my favorite CMC alternatives,” one person tweeted after hearing the news.

“CMC has been bad for years — The amount of scams they’ve allowed to advertise on their site has been awful. Hopefully [Changpeng Zhao] changes that,” another crypto proponent added. A great number of the comments on Twitter were negative and many people talked about the relationship between Tron and Binance as well.

“Binance buying [coinmarketcap.com] — How long until BNB and Tron are #1 and #2 and Digibyte is delisted?” the Twitter account @Litecoinfam tweeted on Tuesday.

What do you think about the possibility of Binance acquiring coinmarketcap.com? Let us know in the comments below.

The post The Crypto Industry’s $400M Cash and Stock Deal – Binance to Acquire Coinmarketcap.com appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Egypt Limits Bank and ATM Withdrawals Citing Rampant Cash Outflow and Coronavirus Fears

30/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

On Sunday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced it had instructed financial institutions in the country to put withdrawal limits in place for cash. Regional reports disclose that Egyptian residents can only withdraw 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($640) and businesses can only withdraw 50,000 pounds ($3,200). The CBE cited concerns over the covid-19 outbreak and also limited automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawals to 5,000 pounds per day.

Also read: Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up

Central Bank of Egypt Enforces Cash Withdrawal Limits at Bank Branches and ATMs

The global economy has been suffering from the economic hardships tied to the covid-19 outbreak that has ravaged multiple countries. The coronavirus scare has caused people to question the use of cash due to the uncleanliness of bills. For instance, at the beginning of March, the U.S. central bank told the public it was holding U.S. dollars repatriated from Asian countries in a separate area. Further, the faltering economy has also caused banks in countries like the U.S. and Germany to place withdrawal limits on cash.

Now Egyptians are facing the same cash issues and the country’s central bank is imposing cash withdrawal limits across the board. In addition to the withdrawal limits imposed, the CBE’s Tarek Amer told reporters on Sunday via Sada al-Balad TV that “Egypt is facing a cash problem.” Amer disclosed that there’s roughly 26 billion pounds being transferred out of Egypt to international banks and Egyptian travelers are also taking lots of cash with them when they travel abroad. However, local media quickly pointed out that Egyptian expat remittances were well over 26 billion pounds and were actually closer to 34 billion pounds ($2 billion+ USD).

The monetary authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt explained on March 29 that it had told Egyptian banks to impose limits on cash withdrawals. The reason for the CBE’s move is to help curb the rising coronavirus spread in Egypt, Africa and other countries in the Middle East. The CBE’s new guideline says that the daily limit for individual withdrawals will be 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($640) and Egyptian companies can only withdraw 50,000 pounds. Further, the central bank told financial institutions to limit ATM withdrawals down to 5,000 pounds. The Egyptian pound’s inflation rate has been worse than most countries, as it was 13% in 2019 and 9.9% in 2020. Most central banks try to keep the inflation rate around 2%, but the Egyptian pound has suffered since the CBE floated the national currency in November 2016.

Egyptians have also been told by the CBE that they should “avoid paper currency” and the citizenry should adopt electronic transfers and e-payments so they can control the covid-19 outbreak. “All banks canceled fees on transfers and e-payment methods for the citizens’ convenience,” the CBE said on Sunday. The day prior, the central bank of Egypt started an electronic payments initiative to encourage citizens to stop using physical pounds. Before that initiative, the CBE told smaller banks they could not impose late payments on certain loans and asked banks to delay credit penalties against customers and organizations.

Withdrawal Limits Started in Lebanon and India Well Before the Covid-19 Outbreak

The covid-19 outbreak is not the first sign of governments worldwide limiting the use of cash within a nation. Lebanese citizens have been dealing with the economic hardship as well. The country’s central bank imposed customer withdrawal limits last October. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed strict restrictions at the end of September 2019, which caused a broad range of Indian citizens to grow angry and rush branches.

Following the coronavirus scare, a few U.S. banks imposed withdrawal restrictions as customers from the Hamptons in New York tried to empty large accounts. Bank customers from a few other U.S. states also complained of withdrawal limit issues from financial institutions like Bank of America, Chase, and JPMorgan. Last week, reports also disclosed that a number of German banks have imposed withdrawal limits and customers can only withdraw 1,000 euros per visit.

Meanwhile, throughout the madness of this crazy environment filled with financial calamity, bitcoin supporters believe the time is now for worldwide citizens to adopt a censorship-resistant peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Banks have continued to make it harder for people to do what they want with their own money and with the covid-19 crisis, the problem is far more apparent. Americans, Egyptians, Lebanese, Indians, Germans, and citizens across the globe are starting to realize the glaring issues tied to modern central banking the hard way.

What do you think about the CBE imposing Egyptian pound withdrawal limits? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Egypt Limits Bank and ATM Withdrawals Citing Rampant Cash Outflow and Coronavirus Fears appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up

30/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

In 44 days, BTC miners will face the third reward halving as the block subsidy will soon shrink from 12.5 to 6.25 coins per block. Following the market carnage in mid-March, BTC’s hashrate plummeted 44% to a 2020 low of 75 exahash per second (EH/s). Since then the hashrate has climbed back above 100EH/s, but profitability between SHA256 networks like BCH and BSV has been a lot more erratic than usual.

Also read: Bitcoin Hashrate Down 45% – Miners Witness Second-Largest Difficulty Drop in History

BTC Recaptures 100 Exahash – SHA256 Miners Bounce from Network to Network Chasing Profits

Three halvings are just around the corner and people monitoring these networks have been noticing a lot more action within the SHA256 mining ecosystem. The market downturn after March 12, stemming from the covid-19 scare, has caused a massive revenue shift for individuals and organizations mining bitcoins. News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on how bitcoin miners have been selling more coins than they have been generating. Moreover, at the same time, the BTC hashrate lost 44% of its processing power and the network saw the second-largest difficulty drop in history. Now there’s only 44 days left until BTC’s subsidy halving, as the chain will halve on or around May 13. Since news.Bitcoin.com’s report three days ago, BTC miners have managed to jump back above the 100EH/s mark.

At the time of publication, bitcoinsv (BSV) miners have 2.4EH/s of hashpower and the network is expected to halve in ten days. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has around 3.4EH/s hashing away at the network and BCH miners will face a halving in eight days. With the significant price drop and the BTC difficulty drop that followed, all three networks have been seeing much longer time frames when it comes to miners shifting between networks for profits on each network.

Miners who are mining 2-3 of the most valuable SHA256 chains are bouncing back and forth depending on each chain’s profitability. For instance, from March 13 through the 21st, the profitability between BTC and BCH was considerable and favoring BCH. Similarly, after March 21, the opposite was true for about a week and miners moved hashpower over to BTC for a while. With all three halvings expected to happen roughly around the same time frame, the events make speculators believe that the trend of miners bouncing back and forth will continue to increase.

While DPW Holdings Closes a 28MW Operation, Hive Acquires a 30MW Facility

The price drop that affected all three SHA256 networks (BTC, BCH, and BSV) has caused a number of mining operations to close up shop or make an acquisition. On March 18, DPW Holdings revealed that because of the adverse effects of the covid-19 outbreak, the firm’s subsidiary mining farm Digital Farms would be closing indefinitely. The company filed an update with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the decision to shut down operations. The report notes that Digital Farms shut down 28 megawatts (MW) of power “due to the unprecedented market conditions domestically and internationally.”

Following the closure of Digital Farms, Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd (TSX.V:HIVE) announced the acquisition of a mining operation with 30MW of power. The facility uses “low-cost green power” and resides in Lachute, Quebec. “The acquisition provides us with an advanced, operating Bitcoin mining facility ready to transition to next-generation mining hardware with access to some of the lowest-cost electricity on the planet,” Frank Holmes, interim executive chairman of Hive told the press on Monday. “The facility is powered entirely by renewable hydroelectricity, thereby maintaining our 100% green energy powered operations globally,” the Hive executive further remarked.

Montana Officials Extend Renewable Energy Guidelines for Bitcoin Miners

Just recently, Coinshares data and many other researchers have reported roughly 74% of bitcoin mining operations are leveraging some form of renewable energy. While mining bitcoins continues to grow popular, the state of Montana has seen a lot of miners setting up shop in the region.

On March 27, officials in Missoula County, Montana proposed extending a guideline that requires miners operating in the state to use renewable energy sources. The proposal passed unanimously among the Missoula County Board of Commissioners and it will last until April 3, 2021.

16nm Chip and S9 Extinction?

A recent research report by Securities Daily’s Xing Meng reveals that older mining units like Bimain’s S9 (14TH/s) may not survive with bitcoin prices so low and with the upcoming reward halving. The mining operation F2pool has already reported that an estimated 2.3 million Antminer S9s have been shut off to-date.

Securities Daily’s Xing Meng and F2pool’s data shows that 16nm-powered mining rigs that have been the standard since 2016 face extinction. Although, the recent adjustment in BTC’s difficulty has allowed 16nm powered units like the S9s to continue until the halving. According to data, right now an S9 with 14/THs and $0.04 per kWh, will lose $11 a day. This data indicates that electricity prices would have to be near free for S9s to continue going forward after the halving.

The current global economy fears mixed with the upcoming halvings on all three SHA256 networks, will surely make things in crypto-land more eventful. Signs of stress and large swings in mining profitability and hashrate, indicate that miners are likely simply trying to survive the best they can. For the last few years, bitcoin mining has been extremely competitive and the competition and stress will likely grow exponentially after these three halvings are said and done.

What do you think about the challenges miners face with the current price and upcoming halving? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Bitcoin Mining Roundup: BTC Regains 100 Exahash, Miners Close Shop, Pre-Halving Shake-Up appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Market Update: Uncertainty Remains Thick as Bears Claw Bitcoin Price Below $6K

30/03/2020 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin’s price has been dragging downward and on March 29, BTC’s fiat value slipped beneath the $6K zone. Most of the top ten cryptocurrencies are down between 5-8% in the last 24 hours. As the global economy falters and the halving approaches, people are uncertain about the future price of bitcoin as “safe-haven” theories have been steadily vanishing.

Also read: In-Between Bitcoin Halvings: Analyst Proves Bitcoin’s Price Not Bound to 4-Year Cycles

Top Ten Cryptos See Some Percentage Losses During Sunday’s Trading Sessions

The price of bitcoin affects the entire cryptoconomy most of the time and on Sunday, March 29, the story is no different. BTC has slipped beneath the psychological $6K mark after hovering around $6,450 for a while and then $6,200 during the last day and a half. At the time of publication, BTC is swapping for $5,904 per coin and has a market capitalization of roughly $108 billion.

As usual, tether (USDT) is the top pair with BTC on Sunday capturing more than 67% of the day’s trades. This is followed by pairs like USD (8.6%), JPY (6.2%), PAX (5.69%), USDC (5.4%) and EUR (2.18%). The two stablecoins PAX and USDC have been commanding a lot of BTC trade volume since the initial market carnage that started on March 12. At $5,904 per coin, BTC has lost 5.15% during the course of Sunday’s trading sessions.

The second-largest blockchain by market capitalization, ethereum (ETH), is down 3.6% today and trading for $125 per coin. ETH has a market cap hovering around $13.8 billion and about a billion in reported trade volume on Sunday. Ethereum prices are down 18% during the last 30 days, 4.3% for the last 90, and negative 12% for the last 12-months against the U.S. dollar.

The fifth-largest blockchain by market cap, bitcoin cash (BCH) is down 3% today and is swapping for $208 a coin. BCH has around $330 million in global trade volume and the coin’s market valuation is $3.8 billion today. Just like BTC, the top trading pair with bitcoin cash is tether (USDT) capturing 59% of the day’s swaps. BTC is below tether followed by USD (14.5%), ETH (1.5%), KRW (1.4%), and EUR (0.55%). Bitcoin cash is down 3% for the last 30 days, the coin is up 0.27% for the last 90, and BCH is also still up 24% for the last 12-months against the U.S. dollar.

Uncertainty Remains Thick Among Crypto Traders

Right now many traders on forums, Youtube, social media and other avenues are uncertain about the future of BTC’s price and the rest of the crypto market. The popular analyst Peter Brandt noted on March 27 that for BTC, “This is the perfect storm.” However, Brandt added: “If Bitcoin cannot rally on this, then crypto is in BIG trouble.”

“I do not personally think BTC even has that much time to declare itself true or false,” Brandt tweeted the day prior.

Digital asset trader Crypto Michaël tweeted to his 50,000 followers that he thinks “every cycle takes longer than the previous one.” The trader’s opinion was similar to our recent report on Benjamin Cowen’s video about debunking four-year cycle periods.

“What if that also means that we’re going to find support at the 300-Week MA?” Crypto Michaël asked. “100-Week MA was supported in 2012, 200-Week in 2014-2017. 300-Week MA accumulation before the peak to 2025-2026 with BTC at $150,000?” the trader added.

“So you’re saying BTC will be in the range between 3k and 6k over the next 2+ years? I don’t think that BTC holders will be happy with that,” one person replied. “You are right. But I think there will be a new Bitcoin hodler emerging if the price will be $3K,” another crypto proponent added.

The Twitter account The Crypto Fam told his 20,000 followers that he thinks $6K as a long term price is good. “But it’s possible that all markets make another big leg down, even gold, in which case BTC would go with it. Gotta have some cash to buy new lows,” he tweeted.

“In the last 24 hours, I’ve watched BTC climb in the short-term while XRP remains stable in bitcoin price countless times in which it somehow did not affect the USD price of XRP in the meantime. Mathematically, it just doesn’t compute,” the trader Tommy Tourettes said. Presently, a number of traders and analysts have a range of different theories about where crypto prices will lead, but these days most of them are uncertain of what lies ahead.

Where do you see the cryptocurrency markets heading from here? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Market Update: Uncertainty Remains Thick as Bears Claw Bitcoin Price Below $6K appeared first on Bitcoin News.