Bitcoin Cash Soars to Double Digits!

Willmen Blanco
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Daniel Jimenez, an engineer and a passionate Blockchain and Bitcoin follower, explains the reasons why Bitcoin Cash has succeeded in reaching two digits

Undoubtedly, the crypto asset market is experiencing one of its best moments in months. The stampede of Bitcoin (BTC) prices and its altcoins have resulted in excellent gains for those long-term investors.

That is the case of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) that can be seen through its price increase, which opened at a rate of 25.79% at the time of writing this article and does not seem to be reaching a limit for the moment. BCH is trading above $210 and its capitalization market has soared to $3.7 trillion dollars, to stay in the sixth place of the general ranking.

For the short term, BCH presents a ceiling of $215 that it seems to be able to meet without any problem in the next hours, provided that the optimistic environment continues. The Exponential Moving Average 25 (EMA 25) indicator has made a bearish crossover projected for the next 10 hours.

The Aroon indicator remains bullish, although it gives signs that there may be a possible correction around the corner.

The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) stays at a good level, which indicates that there is a good flow of money into the BCH ecosystem.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has made a bullish crossover alongside the Bitcoin rally, although it has already distanced from the moving midline to project itself a little less optimistically in the short term.

Regarding the mid-long term horizon, BCH has a strong bullish trend, as a pronounced upward channel has been created for the cryptocurrency, with R1 levels at $224 and Support levels at $159.89.

The Parabolic SAR (Stop and Reverse) is completely bullish, drawing the trend lines below the prices in the candlestick chart.

The Bollinger Bands are shown less contracted, synonymous with the strong volatility of the ecosystem, and they indicate with the breaking of the last candlestick above the upper band that it is the best entry moment.

The Stocastico indicator is also bullish and it shows sustained overbought levels.

In conclusion, the short-term horizon is precautionary, with possible price corrections, but the scenario for BCH in the long-term seems promising; that is, very bullish.

The History behind Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash emerged on August 1st, 2017, when Bitcoin got a hard fork. There have been many BTC forks, of which BCH remains the most recognized.

It was developed to increase the size of the BTC block, which would allow conducting more transactions within each block. At the same time, more transactions could be processed in a shorter period of time at lower rates.

This seemed like a reasonable solution to the scalability problem that has plagued BTC since its creation. However, there were many who believed that this cryptocurrency should not change.

There is evidence that supports their claim: BTC still has the highest market capitalization and remains the most dominant despite its many forks.

In contrast, BCH experienced a hard fork in 2018, about a year after the first BTC fork produced losses in the market prices and capitalization. Besides, Bitcoin Lightning Network promises another solution to the scalability problem, which could make BCH a redundancy.

By Willmen Blanco

New law in Montana Urges Miners to Use Renewable Energy

Maria Rodríguez
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New law in Montana Urges Miners to Use Renewable Energy

The norm seeks to recycle electronic waste. This measure would allow reducing costs up to 75 % and increasing profits in an environmentally sustainable way

A new law in Missoula County, in the US state of Montana, focuses on the possible effects of cryptocurrency mining in global warming and in avoiding the so-called electronic waste. According to local media reports published on April 5th, the county adopted new regulations for cryptocurrency mining.

The Board of County Commissioners of Missoula approved the standards with the intent to “protect public health, safety, morals and general well-being” of the county’s residents. From now on, miners in that region will be able to establish their operations only in districts of light or heavy industries and only when the conditional use of other types of energies has been reviewed and approved.

Another new measure is that miners must certify that all their electronic waste will be recycled after completing their operations, whilst the type of energy they must use should be renewable. A recycling company licensed by the Department of Environmental Quality will handle the electronic waste the miners generate.

Finally, in the document it is specified that mining operations that do not comply with these new regulations may continue, but will not obtain authorization to get expand unless they comply with the new requirements, which entered into force on April 4th of the current year until April 3rd, 2020.

The article also notes that the staff at Hyperblock, a county mining company, uses as much electricity as a third of all homes in the county, and also it plans to triple its electricity consumption.

County Commissioner, Dave Strohmaier, commented: “Cryptocurrencies are exponentially using more energy and we have to take measures to address it […] We have to use new renewable energies if we want to deal with climate change”.

As it is explained in the county news, Hyperblock purchases hydroelectric power to conduct its operations without problems, but the new objective would be to join, along with other potential buyers, to the use of renewable energies.

Less Expenses, More Profits

The manager of Hyperblock, Dan Stivers, assures that the company has always used renewable energy and that it could even have used the electricity obtained by coal combustion, since it is more economical. Stivers also states that Hyperblock uses an authorized recycler to treat its electronic waste.

“However, that is not enough in any way. It is a viable business model and if we had not moved as anchor tenants, there would be no Bonner mill as we see it today”, he said.

Sustainable mining has been an area of ​​interest for the cryptocurrency community since some months ago, especially considering the changes in the market, as well as the increase in difficulty in generating blocks, and high energy costs. The idea is to find strategies to solve each of these problems; therefore, not to harm the environment or the profits of the miners.

Recently, a miner said that the use of solar energy had reduced the cost of mining operations by up to 75 %. Now, this initiative not only promises to be much more profitable, but also to have a less invasive environmental impact.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

Western Union Joins Forces with Coins.ph to Offer Cross-Border Remittance Services in the Philippines

Andres Chavez
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Western Union Joins Forces with Coins.ph to Offer Cross-Border Remittance Services in the Philippines

The blockchain revolution is here to stay, and even enterprises and companies that have been around for decades want to take advantage of the myriad of benefits that it has to offer. It is not surprising, then, that American financial services firm Western Union has joined the party by establishing a strategic alliance with Coins.ph.

Coins.ph is a well known e-wallet provider in the Philippines, and now, thanks to the partnership with Western Union, will be able to allow Filipinos to perform cross border money transfers. The Western Union Company published the news in recent days via a press release.

According to the press release, Western Union will integrate Coins.ph’s blockchain ecosystem into its trademark cross-border platform, with the intention of letting people in the Asian country receive and hold international transfers into their associated Coins.ph electronic wallets.

Broadening Remittance Services

“There are many overseas Filipino workers who send money back home regularly and are always looking for additional remittance options that will make it most convenient for their loved ones to receive money. By pairing Coins.ph’s payments technology with Western Union’s expansive global network, we are giving Filipinos a seamless choice to receive money digitally, on the go,” according to Ron Hose, Coins.ph’s Co-Founder and CEO.

Before enjoying the new feature offered by Western Union and Coins.ph, people will have to sign up for the latter’s wallet, enter a valid ID, and perform an electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) process. According to the published information, Coins.ph will establish a maximum wallet capacity of 100,000 Philippines pesos per month, a little under $2,000 under the exchange rate at the time of writing this piece.

“Over the years, Western Union has fueled innovation centered around the needs of customers, giving them their choice of channels, currencies, access and opportunities to connect with family and friends around the globe. With this collaboration with Coins.ph, we are delighted to offer customers in the Philippines with an unmatched depth of services and capabilities, and convenience right at their fingertips,” were the words of Molly Shea, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Global Money Transfer, Asia Pacific, Western Union.

Almost $35 Billion in Inflows

The Philippines is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to getting remittances, according to data from the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Brief 30. It received more than $34 billion in inflows in 2018, and the number is bound to increase in 2019 as well. More than five million people in the nation have a Coins.ph wallet, and the American financial services company has over 12,000 agencies there.

In March, Western Union established an alliance with Thunes, a Stellar Lumens (XLM)’s collaborator, to allow its customers to transfer money directly to mobile wallets at a global scale. The American firm stated that the feature is supposed to increase financial inclusion in the planet by making access to banking services easier for those that cannot enjoy them.

The money remittance industry is among the most benefited by blockchain technology. For example, this month, the central banks of Thailand and Myanmmar endorsed an Ethereum based remittance ecosystem that was created by Everex, a blockchain services company. Veerathai Santiprabhob, the governor of Thailand’s Central Bank, pointed out that “this project is an important step forward for the more than 3 million workers in Thailand who might have so far used not secured channels.”

By: Andres Chavez

Facebook Is Looking to Raise $1 Billion in Venture Capital to Fund Crypto Project

Andres Chavez
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Facebook Is Looking to Raise $1 Billion in Venture Capital to Fund Crypto Project

It seems that the crypto fever has finally arrived in what is considered one of Internet’s powerhouses. For months, the industry has lobbied for Facebook to get involved in a crypto project, and now, at least to reports coming from the New York Times (NYT,) people’s desires may be about to materialize.

Facebook, one of the world’s most influential websites, is now looking for support from several prominent venture capital (VC) companies in order to develop a digital token. The pieces of news were reported by Nathaniel Popper, one of NYT’s tech specialists, on April 8th via the microblogging site Twitter.

Lining up with Cryptocurrencies’ Decentralization

The journalists cited sources that are familiarized with the matter. According to Popper, the website founded by Mark Zuckerberg is currently looking for a $1 billion sum to come up with a crypto project, most specifically, a digital token. Whilst it is evidently clear that Facebook has the resources to fund its own project without issues, the fact that it is seeking help from outside, says the NYT tech reporter, could be more about lining up with cryptocurrencies’ decentralized nature.

“Update on Facebook’s cryptocurrency: Sources tell me that Facebook is now looking to get VC firms to invest in the Facebook cryptocurrency project we reported on earlier this year. I hear they are targeting big sums — as much as $1b,” he informed in his personal, verified Twitter account, @nathanielpopper.

“Given that one of the big allures of blockchain projects is the decentralization, getting outside investors could help Facebook present the project as more decentralized and less controlled by Facebook,” he explained via Twitter about the situation. According to Popper, the project would be a stablecoin that is going to be pegged to several currencies held in bank accounts.

A Stable Value

Popper stated that one person he spoke with “said that Facebook is talking about using the money as collateral for its cryptocurrency. Facebook has been designing the coin to keep a stable value, pegged to a basket of foreign currencies held in bank accounts.”

After a Bloomberg story in December, the industry was put in alert about the prospect of a “Facebook Coin.” According to the site and the information reported at the time, the token would be used to perform money transfers made via WhatsApp, focusing on the remittances market in India.

However, in the month of February 2019, the New York Times published a story saying that the coin would be more versatile, with the possibility of using it across the whole Facebook network: Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and even Instagram, providing top-end exposure to nearly $3 billion people per month.

The Move Has Been in the Works for Weeks

At the time, the NYT cited several sources that preferred to stay anonymous, saying that Facebook hired more than 50 engineers to help it come up with its native cryptocurrency. Facebook has, allegedly, begun shopping its coin to several crypto exchanges that are not yet known. As a Twitter user wrote on the thread, taking outside investors could also make the project more likely to be considered a security.

Experts, including Jalak Jobanputra (partner of Future Perfect Ventures,) have identified the cold and volatile market as one of the reasons why VC firms have been so affected. “Given how much the volumes have decreased in the last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are seeing valuations come down on the secondary markets for some of these companies,” he said in February when asked about the possibility of a trend of discounted venture evaluations in the crypto space.

By Andres Chavez

A Cryptocurrency Loan Firm Starts Operating with ETH and DAI

Maria Rodríguez
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A Cryptocurrency Loan Firm Starts Operating with ETH and DAI

The new platform generates non-expendable tokens ERC-721 to enforce payment times

The Cryptocurrency loan firm Dharma Labs, based in San Francisco, which allows cryptocurrency loans through the Ethereum network, announced this April 8th that it launched its service to the public.

After several months of testing, this system is already working and uses smart contracts to establish the conditions of the loans that are made between the users, who can take or give credits in ETH or DAI.

In this way, the initiative seeks to take advantage of the benefits offered by smart contracts, in order to achieve a credit system without intermediaries.

The digital currencies that users can use in this platform are ETH and DAI; the cryptocurrency anchored to the Maker dollar that, in recent weeks, has had problems maintaining its parity with the US currency.

According to the announcement of the launch, users can use the service with any wallet, although only Ethereum (ETH) and decentralized stablecoin (DAI) are compatible at the moment. The service is not custodial and users maintain control of private keys that grant access to assets.

Recognition of Cryptoactives

The loan, as it is explained in the white paper, is registered in an ERC-721 non-fungible token, although it can be transferred to other addresses. In these cases, the payment will be made automatically to the address of the last holder.

The process to enforce payment times is simple. The user must block a part of their cryptoactives in a type of contract called escrow. This deposit is not made to an address of the developers, but is blocked using the Dharma Key system.

About sending funds, this can be done from any keychain without the need to use MetaMask or any other interface that connects with the Ethereum network.

Increasing Credits

As it is detailed in the publication, Dharma has an advantage over centralized cryptocurrency escrow exchanges, which can sustain losses of client funds in the case of a hack.

The announcement states that the system allows users to authorize transactions whilst retaining control of their private keys through a four-digit pin. The service’s website explains that users can earn 2.5% annual interest in ETH and 8% in DAI.

The official website adds that, so far, more than USD 1 million have been borrowed from the platform, whilst more than USD 1.6 million have been offered.

A report by the cryptocurrency lending company Genesis Global Trading said in January that USD 1.114 billion in loans and credits were processed last year. The crypto world continues to expand.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

Colombia will Receive a Bill for Regulation of Exchanges

Maria Rodríguez
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Colombia will Receive a Bill for Regulation of Exchanges

Citizens can review the proposal and present their recommendations until Monday, April 8th

Colombian congressman Mauricio Toro announced he will present to the House of Congress of the Republic of Colombia a new bill, which seeks to regulate commercial activities with digital currencies in the country. It focuses and emphasizes the role of the exchange platforms that operate locally.

Toro published the information on Wednesday 3rd through his Twitter account, @MauroToroO. “We have worked with experts on a bill to regulate aspects of the exchange of cryptoactives. As all our projects, citizens can comment the bill before filing (April 8 deadline)”, he said.

This will allow the Colombian community, as well as experts in the field, to send their opinion about the first draft of the project to make any necessary changes, so the final approach will be as comprehensive as possible. Any comments or points in relation to the bill can be sent to the e-mail address @mauriciotoro.com.

Toro added that the preparation of this bill had the participation of a team of experts in various areas, with the intention of creating a more concise proposal to drive the issues associated with the trade of digital currencies.

Authorities will Monitor the Operations

The proposal focuses mainly on the definition of the general considerations for the operation of the exchanges, which will be the agencies that will provide services for the exchange of cryptocurrencies.

Among the highlights of the bill is the creation of a “Unique Registry of Cryptoactive Exchange Platforms (RUPIC)”, an electronic database under the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Commerce.

This registry will have the function of monitoring and verifying the operations of those companies that offer services of exchange and commercialization of digital assets, as well as their credentials or any information of interest for their users and the pertinent authorities.

In this way, companies must present themselves to this Colombian authority and register in the territory of that country, or operate as a branch of a transnational company.

The project contemplates that companies must have a first level security system approved by the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia (MinTIC). The objective is to comply with procedures such as anti-money laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC).

It is also established that exchanges will not be able to make movements of their users’ funds without prior authorization from them. They will not be able to offer payments for the maintenance of user funds on the platforms.

An important aspect highlighted at the end of the document is that the project does not apply to companies and organizations that use blockchain technology and are not associated with the trade of cryptoactives; thus, these will be considered for other special laws.

If the bill is approved, the service providers and the respective organizations will have a period of six months to adapt to the provisions established in the document.

This is how, until now, Colombia is giving a step forward in terms of regulation and adoption of cryptoactives. However, the centralization proposed by the law and the possible government interference of the MinTIc is a subject that will be debated by the crypto community of the Caribbean country.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

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