Although the IMF alleges that Bitcoin is a risky shortcut, Gladstein denies it. On his Twitter account, he stated that countries would encourage the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its stance on the alleged risks of cryptocurrencies. The agency stated in July that cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, can represent a shortcut for many countries. However, it added that their negative consequences outweigh their potential benefits.

Besides being the director of strategy at the Human Rights Foundation, Gladstein is a member of the Oslo Freedom Forum. He questioned an IMF’s post, in which they express negative opinions on the possible adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

Gladstein said that the obligation to accept payments in Bitcoin due to its adoption as legal tender is precisely the point of legislation. However, the adoption of Bitcoin does not necessarily imply an imposition on citizens. For example, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele stated that no one needs to download the official cryptocurrency wallet.

Regarding whether nations will encourage the use of cryptocurrencies as currency, Gladstein said they may and will.

The IMF also said that the adoption of cryptocurrencies would affect public and private finances in the global economy. Gladstein cited a phrase where the agency claims that central banks cannot apply interest rates in a foreign currency. He responded by highlighting that Bitcoin gives people the option to choose a monetary system without inflation.

Similarly, Gladstein denied that Bitcoin is not beneficial as a store of value for the unbanked. He considers that statement false and said that the best choice is to spend fiat money and save BTC.

What the IMF Says about Bitcoin

According to the IMF’s publication, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have always remained outside the domain of finance. However, they noted that many countries consider making it legal tender, implying their compulsory acceptance in the public and private sectors.

Even though it did not explicitly name it, the agency seems to refer to the case of El Salvador. The country that Nayib Bukele leads will be the first to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. That will happen once the Bitcoin law comes into effect on September 7^th.

In that sense, the IMF considers that cryptocurrencies allow making cheaper payments while improving financial inclusion. Furthermore, they believe that those assets promote competition and resilience among payment providers and make international transfers easier.

However, the agency claims that the risks of crypto assets exceed their potential benefits. Among the supposed negative repercussions of the adoption of Bitcoin, they include its volatility, the opportunity to conduct private transactions for better or worse, and its impact on macroeconomic stability.

The IMF believes that the adoption of cryptocurrencies would affect the collection of taxes by governments. Additionally, they say they would pose a security threat as they do not have strict regulations to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

By Alexander Salazar

The ban of China on Bitcoin mining caused the hash rate on the network to recover by approximately 85%. The increase in computing power comes, in part, from Chinese miners relocating to the United States.

Bitcoin is an asset that offers advantages like the decentralization of its production, contrasting to fiat money. Everyone knows that China is one of the most highly developed countries regarding cryptocurrency mining. However, the government of that Asian country slowed that growth through too strict regulations. For that reason, there has been an increase in the difficulty of mining BTC on the network.

As miners continue to locate their machines outside China, the Bitcoin network has seen a 13% increase. Much of the mining capacity, mainly as farms, migrated to North America while some went to Russia and Kazakhstan.

Mining Difficulty is a self-reference score that allows knowing how difficult it is to find the next block on the blockchain. The term self-reference means an internally measured unit that had a value of 1 at the beginning of Bitcoin and has grown exponentially.

Mining Difficulty Increases as the Number of Miners Grows

The mining difficulty on the Bitcoin network has grown from 13.7 T to 17.6 T since July. Therefore, the level of difficulty has increased by 13%, being the third consecutive positive adjustment.

The last two increases (7.3% and 6%, respectively) occurred after the Bitcoin hash rate increased by 28%. At that time, the computing power went from 97 exahashes (EH) to 126 EH.

After the ban in China, the Bitcoin hash rate has recovered by about 85%, showing the excessive volatility created by the restriction. The increase in hash rate comes from large North American miners, besides Chinese miners that have relocated.

The adjustment of Bitcoin mining difficulty occurs about every two weeks or every 2,016 blocks. The network increases or decreases it depending on the number of miners participating in the network. If more hash rate connects during those two-week periods, then the difficulty will adjust upwards. On the contrary, if miners disconnect their equipment and there is less competition, the level will decrease.

China’s Restriction on Bitcoin Mining Proves Profitable for Active Miners

Adjustments in the mining industry above 10% are substantial and will likely reduce profits as they move towards yearly highs. In April, Bitcoin reached its all-time high of USD 0.415 per terahash (TH), regarding mining difficulty.

Bitcoin mining was highly profitable for active miners after the Chinese government banned the activity in the country. For example, many miners connected in the United States made massive profits during the second quarter of this year.

Most mining company stocks trade more like Bitcoin proxies rather than depending on their finances. Therefore, there will hopefully not be a material change in their prices based on that adjustment.

That might be different if there were traditional proxies like ETFs more readily available in the United States. Although China restricted Bitcoin mining, it could not prevent miners from seeking to do business abroad.

By Alexander Salazar

A bullish consolidation above USD 50,000 should be complete at some point, Woo said. In less than three weeks, a consolidation phase would take the price of Bitcoin to a new bullish rally.

A recent report by analyst Willy Woo indicates that an increase in the demand for Bitcoin has mitigated the downside risk. The price of the pioneering cryptocurrency is currently at a discount compared to its current valuation due to that demand, the specialist states.

Woo expects price action to go from sideways movements to a clearly bullish scenario in 1 to 3 weeks. He predicts that Bitcoin would then attempt a bullish breakout of USD 50,000, but he is very confident that that resistance will give way again.

Considering the demand from investors, the Bitcoin valuation model has returned to a price range close to USD 55,000.

The Macro Cycle Points to 2022 Being a Bullish Year

There has been a massive accumulation of BTC by long-term holders in the last two months. That has been one of the most attractive aspects of Bitcoin’s on-chain structure, Woo said.

The specialist argues that long-term holders control the coins that have not moved for more than five months. Since currencies take a long time to establish that status, he believes that this metric would not be very suitable for the short term. However, he says that the analysis of the macro movements of the cycle reveals their strength.

A recent supply shock graph, corresponding to long-term holders, allows seeing the demand and supply of Bitcoin on a macro time scale. Woo noted that the rectangles indicate the zone of maximum accumulation, which leads to higher unavailability or a higher supply shock. He explained that the highs in the supply shock are usually related to a zone of a price rebound.

The Adoption Rates of Bitcoin Influence the Price

Although Woo does not specify the model that will replace Bitcoin’s four-year cycles, he suggests a random price discovery route might emerge. As in traditional markets, it would track the adoption on the network, which cycles of about ten years would eventually capture. In other words, the price of Bitcoin would not respond to predetermined patterns but would rather become more dependent on its adoption rates.

In the latest Bitcoin market newsletter, Woo changed the bearish outlook that he had reflected in his previous assessment. He had warned about incoming flows of BTC to exchanges, which increased sales pressure. New data from the analyst confirmed the trend of BTC flows leaving cryptocurrency exchanges and a more massive accumulation by long-term holders.

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 48,900 and has accumulated a 1.52% profit in the last 24 hours. In addition, the price has suffered a drop of 3.5% compared to the local maximum of USD 50,400. The market capitalization of the cryptocurrency is more than USD 920 billion at the time of writing this article, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

The behavior of the price of Bitcoin leads analysts to make predictions above USD 50,000. After breaking resistance at USD 40,000 and crossing moving averages to the upside, buyers are more likely to make a profit.

The price of Bitcoin has stagnated a bit and even declined after accumulating significant profits in August. Some analysts make predictions about where it could go during the first week of September 2021.

The pioneering cryptocurrency is trading at USD 48,900 and has accumulated a 0.6% profit in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Predictions of Analysts about the Price of Bitcoin for September

The BTC vs. USDT daily chart indicates a clear short-term upward trend for the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency. It precedes the 8-day EMA and 18-day SMA moving averages, which cross to the upside.

Right now, there is a pullback that started after resistance around USD 50,000 hampered the price.

So far, the price has attempted to maintain the short-term bullish direction, using the moving averages as dynamic supports.

Based on the current behavior of the price of Bitcoin, analysts make an upward prediction. They believe that it will most likely exceed USD 50,000 during the first week of September.

A Medium Term Trend Correction Does Not Mean Expecting a Fall

The weekly timeframe shows quite developed momentum, beginning to give some ground to sellers.

Faced with the slight exhaustion of the bulls, it is increasingly likely that there will be a relevant pullback. However, analysts consider that this is not the time for sales.

The current gains are due to the resumption of a trend that created demand above USD 30,000 on numerous occasions.

Momentum could seek new all-time highs after breaking resistance at USD 40,000 and crossing the moving averages to the upside. For that reason, the odds of winning appear to be more towards the side of buyers.

According to the daily chart, the short-term target is a price of USD 58,352.

These are the Opinions of Analysts

Recent gains allowed positivity to take over market sentiment. The point of view of most cryptocurrency analysts agrees on this point.

Renowned analyst Will Clemente, who is popular on Twitter, recalled that a massive bullish movement could break the upward channel of Bitcoin.

PlanB showed the Stock to Flow indicator, which he adapted and popularized, forecasting USD 100,000 before the end of the year.

Blockchain engineer Alex Wice recently warned that this is the last chance to buy Bitcoin at less than USD 50,000. The investor believes that the all-time high test could trigger a massive Fear of Missing Out.

WhaleMap, a firm that analyzes the behavior of Bitcoin whales, says this is not the time to be bearish. They argue that the risk/reward ratio seems to be quite attractive when analyzing the on-chain data.

The increasing relevance of Bitcoin in the world market leads analysts to make increasingly daring predictions. Most of them agree that the price of the cryptocurrency will hit above USD 50,000 this year. The truth is that the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto has proved capable of recovering from its worst drops.

By Alexander Salazar

José Luis Guillén, CEO of Coincaex, believes that the economic transformation is already underway. The Central American nation now faces the challenge of educating the population about cryptocurrencies.

The adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) in Central America is just in its infancy but could soon take a giant leap. José Luis Guillén, CEO of Coincaex, El Salvador’s first exchange, recently made that prediction about the cryptocurrency. That country will recognize the crypto assets as legal tender from September 7^th.

The Guatemalan businessman decided to change the operations center of his company when the approval of the Bitcoin Law happened. For that reason, he moved to the nation that was adjusting its legal framework to drive the adoption of cryptocurrency.

Two months after arriving in El Salvador, he anticipates that the country will become the financial center of the American continent. He even compares it to Singapore, which used to be a poor island and is now one of the wealthiest countries. While one has focused its economic growth on the US dollar for more than half a century ago, the other is doing so now based on Bitcoin.

The law will enter into force in a few days, but the first stage of development of its economic transformation is already underway. Gillén said that many new companies are moving capital in the country while others have opened offices or plan to start some operations.

The need for a regulation that encourages the market explains the meaning that the Bitcoin Law of El Salvador has for the industry, Guillén explains.

El Salvador’s Great Challenge is to Educate About Bitcoin

Faced with the challenges after the approval of the Bitcoin Law, Guillén notes that the key to driving adoption is education. He comments that the lack of information among citizens leads them to fear using the cryptocurrency.

Education is essential for people to understand that Bitcoin is a store-of-value asset and not a quick-win asset, Guillén says. He adds that increased awareness of how the protocol works will allow the adoption to gain momentum more organically. In other words, not everything will depend solely on the price rise, as is currently the case.

Latin American economics schools should be honest about the history of money as they focus on a central banking model that no longer works. As inflation hits the most vulnerable people very hard, Guillén considers it necessary to focus on the new models of digital scarcity.

Guillén believes that the adoption of Bitcoin will come from the private sector, especially when the US dollar bubble is about to burst. When it happens, people and companies will seek to safeguard their reserves to protect themselves against hyperinflation and the economic crisis.

El Salvador Prepares to Comply with International Regulations

El Salvador is conditioning its infrastructure to comply with international regulations before the Bitcoin Law enters into force. In addition, President Nayib Bukele already has a draft ready for the new National Constitution of that Central American country.

That Magna Carta will include digital currencies as constitutional, thus endorsing the use of non-physical, non-specific currencies. However, no one knows yet which cryptocurrencies the article of the law will cover.

By Alexander Salazar

For Carl “The Moon”, bitcoin breaking the resistance at $ 49,000 is a critical situation. The trader would take profits from USD 100,000 through a dollar-cost average exit.

The specialist, known by almost half a million people on Twitter, sustained a conversation, days ago, with the Argentine educator Catalina Castro, who leads the YouTube Tech channel with Catalina.

The specialist said that seeing bitcoin (BTC) between USD 200 and USD 500 would be feasible in the next nine months, and USD 700 would be less feasible, but possible as well. This explanation is what the trader and technical analyst Carl “The Moon” Runefelt recently gave on future prices.

The professional trader revealed his analysis on the price of bitcoin in the short, medium, and long term. According to Carl, for at least nine more months, the price would continue an upward stage of the current cycle and then enter a market with a downward trend.

“People in the market contemplate the $ 200,000 or $ 300,000 level for the upcoming 8 or 9 months,” says Runefelt. On the long-awaited figure of USD 1 million per BTC, Carl “The Moon” considers it is a situation that will eventually happen, although, as he says, that the question is whether it will happen in the upcoming months or not.

On August 21, the analysis of the Argentine lawyer Carlos Maslatón came to light. According to him, bitcoin will reach $ 1 million, but it will not do it that soon, nor will it linearly reach that point.

According to the lawyer’s forecast, users would have to wait until 2025 to see the price of BTC at that figure. Maslatón sympathized with Runefelt and believes that in 2022, the cryptocurrency could reach new high prices near the USD 500.000.

USD 30.000 and USD 49.000 are both barriers to Consider for Bitcoin

Regarding the price of bitcoin in the short term, Carl «The Moon» highlighted there would be a strong support point at USD 30.000. Once the price of the crypto asset ranks below that amount, a new and prolonged bearish period could start, thus nullifying all the previous predictions.

Instead, if bitcoin forcefully breaks through the $ 49k resistance, the uptrend would consolidate, and the predictions would continue to apply. Each BTC is trading at $ 48,270. Days ago, it surpassed USD 50.000 but crumbled down shortly after.

A Right Time to Sell the Bitcoins

Carl “The Moon” Runefelt talks about selling a certain percentage of the bitcoins periodically as the bull cycle progresses. Carl would start doing it from the moment each BTC goes trading at $ 100,000.

Carl would sell half bitcoin every week or every two weeks for a certain number of weeks to achieve an average starting price. The good thing about this plan is that Carl knows that he will sell at the highest peak, but not everything since the sale will be progressively at different points.

By: Jenson Nuñez