CryptoDigest@Steem Friday, May 19, 2017

Dear Steemians!

Here is the daily press review for bitcoin and other crypto currencies.

Bitcoin at record price as it crosses $1,900 mark. Zimbabwe price already above $2,000
According to Coindesk, a news site specializing in bitcoin and digital currencies, the bitcoin price on 24 March was US $935. It’s a bitcoin price growth example being used to show just how much the cryptocurrency has gained in value over the past couple of years. All this talk is happening because the price of bitcoin has risen consistently since the end of March this year. Today, the price of bitcoin is $1950. The cryptocurrency crossed the $1900 mark today and this is being considered significant especially as it’s now very likely that it will hit $2,000 soon. (techzim.co.zw)

Top 4 Fiat-to-Bitcoin Trading Markets Over The Past 24 Hours
To put this into Bitcoin terms, the Bithumb exchange generated US$28. 913m worth of Bitcoin trading volume in the past 24 hours. Although the EUR market on Kraken is the largest fiat market for the past 24 hours, the USD market is still the largest overall. Right now, Kraken’s BTC/EUR market generated US$31.315m in the past 24 hours, which is a nice lead over the USD trading pair. No other platforms allowing for JPY trading come even close to US$1m in trading volume, according to Coinmarketcap. The vast majority of Bitcoin trading volume takes place in the world of alternative currencies and digital assets. (themerkle.com)

Bitcoin close to conquering $2000, shakes off negative publicity from WannaCry
In a series of new all-time highs, the price of bitcoin hit a new peak of USD 1,944 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) on Friday. The market cap of bitcoin is now over USD 31 billion. The digital currency has appreciated more than 90 percent since the start of 2017 and is close to breaking the USD 2,000 mark. Gone are the days when negative news used to hammer the price of bitcoin. Despite the growing global acceptance, the market cap of bitcoin as a percentage of all virtual currencies has dropped below 50 percent for the first time since cryptocurrencies came into existence . (moneycontrol.com)

Bitcoin Hit Another Record and It's Gained Almost $4 Billion Just This Week
Bitcoin has gained $3.7 billion in market capitalization since Monday, to reach about about $32 billion, while the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has gained $11.3 billion in the same period to hit a total of $67 billion, according to CryptoCurrency Market Capitalizations . In recent days, bitcoin's value has jumped partly due to a surge in trading from Japan and Korea. Over the course of the past 12 months, the value of bitcoin has risen 350%. Bitcoin has been on a rally, surpassing $1,900 for the first time in its history on Friday. At the same time, some investors see the asset as a "safe haven" against geopolitical risks, despite bitcoin's own volatility. (fortune.com)

Where is Gavin Andresen? The Quiet Exile of Bitcoin's Former Face
As the lead maintainer for the project, Andresen played a key role in facilitating this work in bitcoin's early days. This stealth project people referenced might be the Random Sanity Project Andresen tweeted about at the beginning of this month. According to folks in the bitcoin community, Wright invited Andresen, likely because Andresen had influence over the community, to London and convinced him he was Satoshi. The blog Bishop mentioned was Andresen's own, where he sometimes conveniently skirted issues the Bitcoin Core mailing list was discussing. "It was a very bizarre moment," Lombrozo, a Bitcoin Core developer since 2011 recalls. (coindesk.com)

Bitcoin surges past $1,900 for the first time
Along the way, Ulmart, Russia's largest online retailer, said it would begin accepting bitcoin even though Russia said it wouldn't explore the cryptocurrency until 2018. The cryptocurrency has gained in 23 of the past 26 sessions. Friday's gains have bitcoin up by about 102% since March 27. The gains also seem to be boosted by speculation the US Securities and Exchange Commission could overturn its ruling on the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Overnight, the cryptocurrency topped $1,900 for the first time. (businessinsider.com)

Litecoin Releases Ambitious Roadmap For 2017 As SegWit Steals Bitcoin Business
Published on Litecoin Core, plans from various developers behind the altcoin range from major releases such as Litecoin 0.13.3 to user-focused improvements such as the relaunch of its Android app. Bitcoin core developer Eric Lombrozo repeated excitement surrounding the activation after the roadmap unveiling, noting “next generation tech” can already see the light of day on Litecoin. Litecoin has released its 2017 roadmap as investors delight in sustained price growth and low volatility. Litecoin creator Charlie Lee announced the roadmap Wednesday, prior to Litecoin being buoyed by a series of encouraging announcements from the community. The asset’s earlier implementation of SegWit, as well as preparation of Lightning Network and other so-called Layer 2 technology, is already paying dividends. (cointelegraph.com)

Bats Exchange's Proposal Withdrawal Document has Nothing to do With Bitcoin ETF Proposal
In the end, it is important to remember the Bitcoin ETF decision is not affected by this withdrawal. As most people know, there is a rule change proposal pertaining to the Bitcoin ETF listing. When this document surfaced, people assumed the Bats exchange withdrew their ETF proposal. It did not take long for someone to post on Reddit how the BTC ETF proposal was withdrawn. However, this particular document has nothing to do with the Bitcoin ETF whatsoever. (newsbtc.com)

Bitcoin Price Breaks Beyond $1,900 toward All-Time HIgh
Bitcoin price has now hit a new all-time high with a global average of $1,937.15, scaling above the $1,900 figure for the first time ever. Bitcoin price is trading at $1,934.54 at the time of publishing. Japan and Korea now account for two of the top five bitcoin trading markets in the world, combining for over 47% of the market share. Bitcoin price began trading at $1,820.21 on Thursday, making steady gains throughout the day. While bitcoin is losing its dominance in the overall cryptocurrency market, it is a time of flourish for digital currencies. (cryptocoinsnews.com)

Bitcoin Price Tops $1900 as More Asian Traders Rush In | Finance Magnates
It was recently reported that approximately eighteen firms are in the process of applying for a Japanese bitcoin exchange license according to the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association. Bitcoin is now trading at a record high of over $1900, rising 5% since yesterday, giving it a market cap of over $31.5 billion. These include currently operating cryptocurrency trading venues, such as Japan’s biggest bitcoin exchange bitFlyer, as well as some new names in the field including GMO and Kabo – known for their securities trading brokerages. This means that Bitcoin is well on its way to reach a $2000 price level and double its value since the start of 2017. This is evident from the exceptionally high trading volumes, reaching a total for the entire ecosystem of over $2 billion a day. (financemagnates.com)

Bitcoin breaks through $1,900 to reach record high with its market cap up $4 billion this week alone
Bitcoin broke through the $1,900 mark for the first time on Friday, hitting an all-time high, driven by global political uncertainty and key developments within the cryptocurrency world. The digital currency was trading at around $1,951.87 on Friday morning, according to CoinDesk's bitcoin price index. The current level marks a more than 6.8 percent rise from a week ago. Bitcoin's market capitalization is now $31.89 billion, up more than $4 billion from Monday. A number of factors are responsible for bitcoin's rise, from increased trading in Japan to debates over the future of bitcoin's underlying technology. (cnbc.com)

Bitcoin Price at $1,934 All-Time High, Led by US, to Reach $2,000 Soon
After maintaining a strong momentum for three straight days, Bitcoin price has established a new all-time high at $1,920. Cointelegraph also reported that the US Bitcoin exchange market surpassed the Japanese Bitcoin exchange market by trading volume, which hasn’t happened since 12 months ago. This was triggered by the US Bitcoin exchange market and the rise in demand for Bitcoin amid severe political uncertainty. Japan has maintained complete dominance over the global Bitcoin exchange market. It is evident that the demand for Bitcoin in the Japanese exchange market is rising rapidly simply due to its price. (cointelegraph.com)

Here's why Bitcoin prices rose by 60% over a month
A rise in bitcoin prices has led to a surge in Ponzi schemes in India where gullible Indians were made to invest into such schemes. Bitcoin prices are on the rise. Japan has started to accept bitcoin as legal currency with consumer retailer Bic Camera leading the pack. Australia will accept bitcoins as legal currency from July 2017 and it will also be exempt from goods and service tax. The price has shot up by 60 percent over the last month and that has attracted many Indians to this crypto-currency. (forbesindia.com)

Political scandals send bitcoin price to fresh record near $1,900
Bitcoin trade volume in Japan rose from 36 percent to about 40 percent, while South Korea saw its bitcoin trade volume increase to about 5.6 percent from roughly 5 percent. The price of bitcoin hit a record of $1,880 during Thursday’s trading as investors look for safety amid reports of potential political scandals in the United States and Brazil. The digital currency rose 3.5 percent as major stock markets dropped in the last two days following reports of political chaos, particularly in the United States. Aside from political scandals, analysts also credited the increased demand from Japan and South Korea for driving bitcoin’s price higher. Congress wants answers from IRS on bitcoin tax probeMeanwhile, three lawmakers in the United States are questioning the Internal Revenue Service’s basis for investigating and requiring digital currency exchange Coinbase to submit its user records. (calvinayre.com)

More details on these and other related news can be found at http://zentrade.online/bitcoin-news-digest-friday-may-19-2017/