Data Suggests Some Americans May Be Buying Crypto With Stimulus Check

Data suggests that a portion of the American population may be spending their coronavirus stimulus check on cryptocurrency.

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            APR 18, 2020

A chart published by Brian Armstrong, CEO of United States crypto exchange, Coinbase, suggests that a small portion of the American population may be using their coronavirus stimulus checks to purchase cryptocurrency.

A tweet, published by Armstrong on April 17, shows that the percentage of deposits and buys worth $1,200 — the exact value of the stimulus check — recently increased over four times. While the tweet does not explicitly state so, Armstrong's position at Coinbase may suggest that this is the exchange where the data comes from.

Percentage of buys and deposits worth $1,200 each day. Source: Twitter

Coinbase did not answer Cointelegraph's request for more information by press time.

Financial aid for a pandemic-struck economy

The upsurge in the amount of $1,200 deposits and buys coincides with when residents began receiving stimulus checks, making the stimulus appear to be the most likely source of those funds.

The stimulus checks are meant to ease the economic hardship suffered by many U.S. residents who lost their jobs or are seeing much lower income amid the pandemic.

Many production activities, especially customer-facing social activities such as restaurants or cinemas, closed worldwide to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. These closures have left many without a source of income.

As the Washington Post recently reported, even low-income Americans who do not file tax returns have the right to receive the package. Parents are entitled to an additional $500 per child.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, the demand for the stimulus checks is so great that the servers of some banks were unable to manage the request and failed to work properly. About 80 million U.S. residents have access to aid.

Wayne Chen — CEO of Interlapse and founder of virtual currency platform Coincurve — recently told Cointelegraph that the stimulus package may push the Bitcoin (BTC) market upwards.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Adrian Zmudzinski.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

BULLISH: Latest Grayscale Report Shows Institutional Investors Are Pouring Millions Into Bitcoin

By Brenda Ngari – April 16, 2020

Grayscale is often viewed as a bellwether for institutional investors’ interest in bitcoin. The fund’s quarterly reports are used to examine whether institutional money is entering the crypto sector or exiting.

Grayscale recently published its first-quarter results for 2020, showing more than $500 million inflows into the fund. Almost 90% of these inflows were institutional money, suggesting that institutional appetite in crypto as an asset class is increasing.

Institutional Money Is Here

Per Grayscale’s report, the firm recorded an inflow of $503.7 million into all its 10 crypto funds in the first quarter of 2020. This marks the fund’s best quarter yet and represents double the inflows in Q3 2019 which stood at $254.8 million.

That quarter-over-quarter doubling of inflows came despite the economic uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic. This is because most of Grayscale’s customers view crypto-assets as a “medium to long-term investment opportunity and a core component of their investment portfolios”.

New investors in Q1 2020 accounted for $160.1 million. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw quarterly inflows totaling to $388.9 million while the Grayscale Ethereum Trust posted inflows of $110.0 million.

But most importantly is the fact that 88% of all the inflows in the first quarter of 2020 came from institutional investors. A large percentage of these inflows came primarily from hedge funds, the report noted.

Bitcoin Still Rules The Roost

As aforementioned, inflows into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust totaled to over $388 million. This is the highest level the fund has witnessed in a single quarter, beating the previous high of around $193.8M.

For perspective, Grayscale now controls a whopping 1.7% of bitcoin’s circulating supply. This shows that institutional demand for Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust has continued to gain momentum since the firm’s inception almost seven years ago. It also marks an increase of approximately 0.1% since late last year. Overall, the fund manages 1.2% of the total crypto market cap.

Most crypto pundits have long asserted that institutional investors will spur mass cryptocurrency adoption. Others maintain that retail demand is just enough to take crypto to the moon. Grayscale’s latest report shows that institutions are buying bitcoin at a fast clip nonetheless. The future looks bright for Bitcoin in 2020 and beyond.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

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The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Kiyosaki Preaches Bitcoin, Pointing Out Hidden $425 Billion in Congress Rescue Bill

By Tolu   –   April 13, 2020

Businessman and author Robert Kiyosaki is a known Bitcoin proponent who has made several statements in favor of the asset, especially on Twitter. Kiyosaki has added another pro-Bitcoin tweet that unsurprisingly supports Bitcoin and seems to tackle the US Federal Reserve at the same time.

Kiyosaki, most popular for his 1997 book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, took to Twitter, to comment on the Fed’s rescue efforts for the American economy, as the coronavirus continues to shred the financial market. In the tweet, he accused the Fed of hiding information about the bailout it recently announced.

“IS FED BROKE? Hidden in recent $2.2 trillion Congress rescue bill was buried $425 Billion for Fed. Fed has been bailing out the world since 2008. Who bails out the Fed? Now we know. We are. Why are Fed and Treasury hiding this from us? Buy more gold silver & Bitcoin. SCREWED.”

Kiyosaki suggests that the Fed’s actions, which seem to be very supportive of the financial system as a safety net, shows that even the Fed might have to rely on the public for a bailout much later. He fears that the Fed’s 12-year history of bailouts might come back to bite it in the future.

Shortly after, crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger jumped on the tweet. Obviously taunting the Fed by explaining that the money printer is “expensive to operate”, Ledger seemed to agree with the irregularity pointed out in Kiyosaki’s tweet, and then encouraged people to hodl.

In a different tweet posted about an hour earlier, Kiyosaki admits that in theory, the Fed cannot go broke. Regardless, he warns that people could lose confidence in both the institution and the power of the dollar, forcing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to step in.

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Original article written by Tolu and posted on the ZyCrypto.com site.

Article posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Why $6,600 is the Level To Watch During Bitcoin's (BTC) Weekly Close

The Easter weekend has resulted in a drop in Bitcoin trade volume that could result in a price drop at weekly close.

John P. Njui   ·   Bitcoin News   ·   April 12, 2020   ·   2 min read

Quick take:

• Social distancing has been highly advised globally and especially during this Easter weekend.
• Many Easter activities have gone virtual as a result.
• Bitcoin trade volume usually falls during major holidays and Easter is no exception.
• $6,600 is a key zone to watch during today's weekly close.

The 2020 Easter weekend will probably be remembered for the innovation of going totally virtual with activities such as Church services, family get-togethers as well as virtual Egg hunts. With the world on high alert due to COVID19, Social distancing has proven itself as being the most effective method of curbing the spread of the virus. With relation to crypto trading, the Bitcoin (BTC) trade volume has seen the usual drop during a major holiday weekend. Such drops are also witnessed during Christmas and New Years. The 7-day Bitcoin trade volume chart below courtesy of Bitcoinity.org further gives a better representation of the drop this weekend.

7 Day BTC trade volume courtesy of Bitcoinity.org

$6,600 is the Bitcoin Price to Watch During Weekly Close

In our earlier analysis of XTZ/USD, we had stated that Bitcoin looks set to retest previous support zones at $6,600, $6,500, $6,200, $6,050 and possibly $5,800. These levels have been providing reliable support for Bitcoin since the Coronavirus crash of mid-March.

6-hour BTC/USDT courtesy of Tradingview.com

Further checking our favorite 6-hour BTC/USDT chart, we observe the following:

• The $6,600 price zone area provides a level of solid support for Bitcoin leading up to the weekly close later on today.
• $6,900 is providing short term resistance.
• BTC's current price is above the 100 (white) moving average but below both the 50 (white) and 200 (green) moving averages. Therefore, BTC could lean more towards sideways movement for the rest of the day.
• MFI is at 14 indicating an oversold situation.
• MACD is showing a reduction in selling.

Death Cross on the Daily Chart is Still Valid

BTC/USDT daily time-frame chart courtesy of Tradingview.com

When we zoom out to the daily chart, we observe a totally different bearish picture.

• The death cross identified a while back is still valid.
• Trade volume has drastically reduced as mentioned earlier.
• Daily MFI at 77 indicating an overbought scenario and a likely drop.

Conclusion

With Bitcoin's weekly close only a few hours away, $6,600 is the level to watch as it provides a level of solid support. BTC's trade volume has drastically reduced due to the Easter weekend and could provide the final ingredient for a bearish scenario for the King of Crypto. As with all technical analysis, the reader is advised to use stop losses to safeguard their leveraged positions against sudden volatility.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

$24 Trillion US Debt: Could This Be Pushing The Bitcoin Price To Astronomical Heights?

By Lorenzo Stroe – April 9, 2020

According to reports, the U.S. National debt has just crossed above $24 trillion for the first time ever putting the Debt per citizen at $72,890.

Around $800 Billion in debt was added between January 2020 and today as the year started at around $23.2 Trillion in debt. Clearly, the Coronavirus pandemic had a detrimental effect on the overall U.S. economy with stocks plunging faster than ever. 

The S&P 500 has seen a bounce recently but it’s still far away from its peak at 3,380 in February. Currently, the index is at 2,749, a substantial increase from the bottom at 2,237 but investors are not confident.

How Is Bitcoin Reacting?

On the other side, Bitcoin seems to be doing quite well and doesn’t seem to mind the debt or U.S. crisis at all. Initially, the digital asset was following the steps of the traditional stock market and crashed significantly, however, Bitcoin only needed a few weeks to almost fully recover. 

Right before the crash, Bitcoin was trading at around $8,000 and it is now trading around $7,300, only $700 away from the prior normal price. The bulls have managed to set a strong daily uptrend and broke the correlation with the traditional stock market shortly after the crash.

If Bitcoin Is A Safe Haven, Why Did It Crash?

Although the Safe Haven narrative seems to have taken a big hit, there is a good explanation for the recent crash. The traditional stock market around the world plummeted which led to investors losing a lot of money and eventually forcing them to sell other assets to cover the losses, even gold plunged.

There is obviously no way for any asset to never go down, Bitcoin has now proved to be at least a good investment in times of economic uncertainty. The 85% bounce in 11 days from $3,782 to over $7,000 is the proof. During the same period of time, the S&P 500 crashed from 2,480 to 2,237.

Bitcoin is now eyeing up $8,000 and probably more as it is facing very little resistance after this point.

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

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The original article written by Lorenzo StroeZachary and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin (BTC) Reclaims $7,000 as Global Efforts Against the Coronavirus Start to Bear Fruit

Some countries have seen a drop in the infection rate of COVID19 and flattening the curve might finally be happening.

John P. Njui   •   Bitcoin News   •   April 6, 2020   •   2 Min read

In brief:

• Bitcoin (BTC) has this morning reclaimed the $7,000 value once again.
• Its movement is amidst global reports of some countries winning the war against the Coronavirus.
• With halving only days away, Bitcoin might continue with its upward trajectory.

In our Saturday analysis of Bitcoin, Ethereum World News had advised a ‘wait and see’ approach with respect to the price action of BTC. This was due to the fact that the 50 and 100 MA on the 6-hour chart looked set to act as temporary support for the King of Crypto till today, Monday, April 6th.

Bitcoin Reclaims $7,000 On News of Countries Winning the War Against COVID19

At the time of writing this, the Chinese city of Wuhan is coming back to life after several travel restrictions were lifted by the Government. Residents with a 'Green health code' will be allowed to leave Wuhan and the surrounding province. Additionally, the countries of Italy, Spain and Germany, have recorded a decrease in the daily rate of infections in their territories as a result of continued efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.

This reaction of BTC to positive news regarding the war against the global pandemic is similar to an earlier analysis where we postulated the following theory:

…a BTC recovery will only become possible once good news about beating the virus globally, starts to hit the airwaves and internet.

What's Next for BTC/USDT?

6-Hour BTC/USDT chart courtesy of Tradingview.com

Further visiting our favorite 6-hour time frame on the Binance BTC/USDT chart, we observe the following.

The $6,900 resistance level has now been broken and is acting as Bitcoin’s short term support. $7,000 needs to be maintained at least for today for it to turn to some level of confident support. Moving up, $7,200 and the $7,400 zone provide the next level of resistances.

However, trade volume is still considerably low but might improve as the Western hemisphere wakes up in a few hours.

On a Macro level, Bitcoin might go on to reclaim $8,000 and maybe $9,000 as the Bitcoin halving is only 37 days away.

As with all trading analysis, readers are advised to do their own analysis and to use appropriate stop losses to safeguard their leveraged positions.

(Feature image courtesy of Patrick Hendry on Unsplash.)

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Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin Price Analysis: After Failing to Reclaim $7,000, What's Next for BTC?

John P. Njui   •   April 4, 2020   •   2 Min read

In brief:

• Bitcoin exhibited some bullish momentum earlier on in the week. 
• BTC traded briefly at $7,200, dropped below $7,000 and then attempted, with no success, to reclaim this level as support. 
• However, we are back in familiar territory with $6,900 being the level to overcome once again. 

On April fools day, keen crypto traders managed to identify $6,200 as a good support zone for Bitcoin and rode the $1,000 move that soon followed. The King of Crypto traded briefly at $7,200 (Binance rate) only to soon fall back down below $7,000. A second push by BTC was initiated on the 3rd of April but this time around, it could only get to $7,062.

What's Next for Bitcoin?

6-Hour BTC/USDT Chart Courtesy of Tradingview.com

When we further look at the charts on our favorite 6-hour time frame, we observe the following.

To begin with, BTC has the following near term support zones: $6,600, $6,200 and $5,800. The King of Crypto also has the previously mentioned $6,900 and the newly acquired $7,200 as additional resistance.

Secondly, the MACD on the 6hr chart looks set to cross above the baseline in a bearish manner with the MFI indicating that Bitcoin might have had a local top at $7,200. Additionally, the trade volume has reduced drastically in the last few days indicating that the King of Crypto is destined to retest the aforementioned support zones.

However, its current value at $6,710 is above the 50 (white) and 100 (yellow) moving averages indicating that unless there are some serious fundamentals forcing a bearish turn of events, these two MAs might just act as additional support for BTC. Another likely scenario is sideways movement until Monday. Therefore, it might just be one of those weekends where we sit back and watch what Bitcoin's next move will be.

Death Cross Still in Play on the Daily Chart

A fact worth remembering is that the death cross earlier identified on Bitcoin is still very much in play. The 50 daily moving average crossed the 200 daily moving average on the 27th of March. This means that we are still in bearish territory. The daily MFI is currently at 68 indicating that the move up by Bitcoin, might have come to a short break.

Daily MFI at 68 and a death cross still valid

In the hours and days ahead, the following support zones might be worth noting down.

• $6,600
• $6,200
• $5,800
• $5,700
• $5,050
• $4,450

(Feature image courtesy of Victor Freitas on Unsplash.)

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any additional opinion herein is purely the author's and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.

Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Nigeria Becomes Eighth African Nation to Welcome Bitcoin ATMs

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            APRIL 01, 2020

Africa's largest country has welcomed its first Bitcoin ATM.

Blockstale BTM, the company that installed the ATM in the Dazey Lounge and Bar in Lagos state, plans to launch more than 30 more terminals across Nigeria.

"Despite all the legal uncertainties about cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, Nigerians happen to be the highest crypto traders in Africa," Blockstale's chief executive and founder, Daniel Adekunle, told local media on April 1. 

Adekunle developed his Bitcoin ATMs in partnership with a tech firm based in Shenzhen, China.

Nigeria welcomes Africa's 15th Bitcoin ATM

Despite being home to the largest trade volume in Africa, Nigeria is the eighth country in the continent to host a Bitcoin ATM — with Blockstale's comprising the 15th in Africa.

According to CoinATMRadar, South Africa is home to seven crypto ATMs, Ghana hosts two, and Botswana, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe each have a single terminal.

With Nigeria comprising Africa's largest economy and population, the country's first Bitcoin ATM may be a signpost for broader adoption across the continent. Coinstale's terminal is only the second Bitcoin ATM in West Africa.

Nigerian LocalBitcoins volume drops after KYC overhaul

Recent weeks have seen roughly 220 Bitcoins, or $1.38 million worth, of peer-to-peer (P2P) trade between BTC and Nigerian Naira on LocalBitcoins.

However, Nigerian LocalBitcoins has dropped by roughly 50% since the P2P platform strengthened its KYC requirements during September 2019.

Nigerian 'Bitcoin' searches top Google Trends

Nigeria also consistently tops Google searches for 'Bitcoin' — driving nearly twice the traffic as the second-ranked country, Austria, according to Google Trends.

Three of the top five ranked nations for 'Bitcoin' searches are African — with South Africa and Ghana ranking third and fifth respectively.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Samuel Haig.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe