CryptoDigest@Steem Thursday, October 12, 2017

Dear Steemians!

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

Jamie Dimon Says He's Done Talking About Bitcoin
JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon has said he won't be commenting on bitcoin anymore. Dimon later doubled down on his comments, predicting that bitcoin would be targeted by governments. By contrast, some commentators have taken issue with the "fraud" remarks, arguing that the cryptocurrency's foundation is based on a rejection of the banking system. Dimon has something of a history of making strong statements on bitcoin. It's a statement that comes a month after his now-infamous declaration that the cryptocurrency is a "fraud." (coindesk.com)

Bitcoin surges above $5,000
Anyone who owned one Bitcoin before the fork owned one Bitcoin after the fork and one unit of Bitcoin Cash. The Bitcoin community faces ongoing acrimony over how to scale the Bitcoin network. A contentious fork split the Bitcoin network in two in August, and there might be another schism in the Bitcoin community come November. The August fork split the Bitcoin network in half, creating a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Cash that was a perfect copy of the original Bitcoin network—including its transaction history. A healthy ICO market creates demand for Bitcoin because Bitcoin is often used as an intermediary currency for token sales. (arstechnica.com)

Why HODLing Is Hobbling Bitcoin's Prospects as a Common Currency
The second pillar beneath bitcoin's value is its scarcity. There is, however, a paradox here: this scarcity feature could actually undermine bitcoin's appeal as a currency. The more bitcoin shrugs off attacks, the more it highlights its core value as an immutable currency of the people. The vast majority of bitcoin transactions aren't commercial in nature, and a number of merchants that experimented with bitcoin in 2014 and 2015 have since stopped accepting it. Michael J. Casey is the chairman of CoinDesk's advisory board and a senior advisor for blockchain research at MIT's Digital Currency Initiative. (coindesk.com)

Jamie Dimon says he's not going to talk about bitcoin anymore
But I'm not going to talk about bitcoin anymore," said Dimon in response to a question during the bank's third-quarter earnings call with media on Thursday. Dimon told an investor conference last month that bitcoin was a fraud "worse than tulip bulbs." His comments ran contrary to many on Wall Street who have begun to embrace, or at least experiment, with bitcoin and the blockchain technology it utilizes. Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said he is no longer going to discuss bitcoin after his comments last month that the digital currency was a "fraud" caused quite the stir on Wall Street and Silicon Valley. "We are open-minded for digital currencies that are properly controlled and regulated," she said, also discussing the potential merits of blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin. (cnbc.com)

Tell Us Why You Bought Bitcoin Or Face Account Closure: US Bank To Customer
US bank PNC allegedly “wants nothing to do with Bitcoin” but still threatens to close accounts if customers do not reveal why they bought it. That’s according to a story circulating on social media getting increasing attention from the cryptocurrency community. Tales of threats and sudden account suspensions have surfaced not just in the US, but also in Europe, with UK-based Barclays becoming one of the worst offenders in terms of contradictory and overreaching policy. When the user refused to divulge the “purpose,” the bank’s representative threatened to close the account.“I told him I wouldn't answer, he then asked ‘What are you going to do with the Bitcoin’”, u/EliToohey continues.“I again told him I wouldn't answer. He then informed me that his security team told him they would ‘exit the relationship with me’ if they didn't get satisfactory answers.”The episode is not unusual in the often bizarre relationship banks have with cryptocurrency. (cointelegraph.com)

$5,200: Bitcoin Buoyant as Price Sets New All-Time High
Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high today, with prices reaching $5,226 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. The new record broke a previous all-time high of $5,013 set in September. Further, even while skeptics continue to call the bitcoin rally a bubble, the price action analysis indicates no serious trouble ahead for the cryptocurrency. For example, a rumored "bitcoin desk" at Goldman Sachs would certainly be a game changer for the nascent market. However, in subsequent days, bitcoin's price quickly regained, reportedly due to a pick-up in trading volumes in Japan, South Korea and other markets. (coindesk.com)

Bitcoin soars to a new all-time high above $5,200
Bitcoin was surging Thursday, hitting a new all-time high above $5,200. Bitcoin’s prior all-time high came in early September, when it briefly traded slightly above $5,000. Some attributed the jump to speculation that China will allow bitcoin trading to resume by licensing exchanges for cryptocurrencies, but initial reports about that possible development came last week. Beijing last month moved toward a broad clampdown on bitcoin trading, helping to put pressure on prices for virtual currencies.“Recent criticism from industry and regulation crackdowns in China and Russia spooked markets in recent weeks and caused the bitcoin price to plummet. The cryptocurrency BTCUSD, +8.32% on Thursday recently was up by 8% at $5,217 after earlier touching an intraday high around $5,231, according to CoinDesk data. (marketwatch.com)

Bitcoin Breaks $5,000 and Reaches New All-Time High
However, thanks to rising investor interest, another rally occurred Thursday morning which pushed Bitcoin to a new all-time high. The newest all-time high according to CoinDesk is well above the previous ATH of US$5,013 reached back on the 2nd of September. It finally seems like the market has managed to shrug off the negative news that had affected bitcoin over the past month. Bitcoin has been struggling over the last couple of weeks, with considerable volatility influencing the value of the cryptocurrency. Not long ago, for instance, Chinese regulators decided to ban initial coin offerings (ICOs), used by start-ups to generate funds for their projects. (themerkle.com)

What crash?
But for investors who held their nerve, the crash may as well have never happened. Remember bitcoin’s big crash in September? It was caused by Chinese regulators cracking down on the cryptocurrency and figures such as Jamie Dimon talking it down. As for when it becomes less volatile, allowing more people to use it for regular transactions, only time will tell. Japan, too, recently started keeping cryptocurrency exchanges under a watchful eye in order to stop bitcoin’s misuse, but its licensing scheme for exchanges also pointed to the cryptocurrency’s slow move toward the mainstream. (fortune.com)

Hive Switches From Mining Gold to Bitcoin, Surges Six-Fold
Bitcoin Investment Trust, for example, invests exclusively in bitcoin and trades over-the-counter. Frank Giustra, the Canadian mining maverick who amassed a fortune building what would become one of the world’s largest gold companies, is digging for another kind of gold: cryptocurrencies. The high-risk, high-reward mentality of those who back hard-rock mining exploration eases the leap from physical to digital gold, says Pokrandt, who’s focused on mining and resources for more than two decades. Hive paid Hong Kong-based Genesis Mining Ltd., builder of the world’s largest ether mining facility, $9 million and gave it a 30 percent stake to acquire a new data center in Reykjanes, Iceland. The market value of the world’s roughly 1,000 cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, surged more than eight fold this year to top $150 billion. (bloomberg.com)

One bitcoin is now worth more than $5,100, a record high
Bitcoin is now trading above $5,100, marking a new record high for the digital currency. The Bitflyer exchange based in Tokyo conducts about three-quarters of the yen trading volume. What is clear is that a shutdown of bitcoin exchanges by the Chinese government in September only momentarily slowed the price rally. In contrast to China, the Japanese regulator has issued licenses to 11 bitcoin exchanges operating there. Trading volume in China has plunged to about 1.6% of the global market, according to Crypto Compare, a data provider. (qz.com)

As JP Morgan CEO Slams Bitcoin, His Company Invites Tech Guru to Explain it to Top Managers
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s recent attack on Bitcoin, which saw it slump in time with the Bitcoin exchanges banning announcements from China, is starting to unravel. Many have speculated that Dimon’s comments were a ploy to try and affect the market price of Bitcoin, however, that’s impossible to prove. Dimon called Bitcoin a ‘fraud’ and said if he caught anyone trading it they would be fired from his company. Stephens is still of the opinion that Dimon is simply being ignorant:"The Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have elicited an emotional response from financial incumbents. However, it has since emerged that there’s a lot of hypocrisy and conflict of interest in these statements. (cointelegraph.com)

Bitcoin bursts through $5,000 for first time
Bitcoin surged through the $5,000 level on Thursday for the first time since the launch of the unregulated virtual currency more than 8 years ago. Bitcoin, a virtual currency created from computer code, was worth only a few US cents was launched in 2009 by someone using the Japanese-sounding name Satoshi Nakamoto. Just like other currencies, bitcoins can be exchanged for goods and services -- or for other currencies -- provided the other party is willing to accept them. Unlike a real-world unit such as the US dollar or euro, bitcoin has no central bank and is not backed by any government. The lack of transparency has also sparked concerns that the swings in its value may be due to speculative trading. (newvision.co.ug)

Bitcoin rockets above $5,000 to all-time high
LONDON: Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time on Thursday, jumping as much as 8 percent on the day as investors shrugged off the latest warnings on the risks of buying into the booming cryptocurrency market.Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, has chalked up a more than fivefold increase in price this year.Typically for bitcoin, which at less than nine years old is still highly volatile and illiquid compared with traditional currencies and assets, the precise reason for its recent tear was unclear.Upcoming splits in its software, reports that Goldman Sachs is considering offering bitcoin trading, rumours that China could ease restrictions, and even a political crisis in Spain's Catalonia region were all cited by market-watchers as reasons for the rally.But the main factor could simply be demand from investors wanting 'in' on a market that has provided gains exceeding those of any other currency in every year bar one since 2010."People are just wanting to be part of it," said Ryan Nettles, head of FX trading and market strategy at Swiss bank Swissquote, which launched bitcoin trading two months ago. Nettles said interest had been much higher than anticipated and has come from banks, hedge funds and brokers."The interest really stems from the media hype," he added.On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of the "serious risks" surrounding the nascent market, while Russia's central bank said it would ban cryptocurrency trading websites.But that was not enough to put investors off, with bitcoin rallying around 10 percent since then.Data released last week from SEMrush, a search engine data analytics firm, found the price had a 91 percent correlation with Google searches on bitcoin, suggesting that all news -- whether negative or positive -- drives up demand, even if bad news can have a temporary negative effect.Bitcoin almost reached $5,000 at the start of September, but fell back sharply after the head of Goldman Sachs blasted the cryptocurrency as a "fraud" and as China forced exchanges to close down, sparking fears of a broader crackdown.But after dipping below $3,000 in mid-September, bitcoin has leapt in value by more than 75 percent in four weeks."Bitcoin was designed to operate outside of the influence of governments and central banks, and is doing exactly that," said Iqbal Gandham, Managing Director at retail trading app eToro, which has seen huge increases in cryptocurrency trading volumes.By 1245 GMT, bitcoin was trading up 8 percent on the day around $5,200 on Luxembourg-based exchange Bitstamp.Though there have been many warnings about a bitcoin "bubble", including from European Central Bank Deputy Governor Vitor Constancio, some say it has much further to climb. But determining its value is difficult."For most currencies there are several accepted methodologies for estimating relative value, normally based on macroeconomic fundamentals," said EFG Asset Management's Global Head of Research, Daniel Murray. "For bitcoin no such fundamentals exist."Other cryptocurrencies -- whose prices tend to be highly correlated to bitcoin -- also rallied. Their total value -- or market capitalisation -- climbed above $160 billion for the first time since early September, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.com.Two upcoming "forks" in the bitcoin software code, which will create rival clones of the cryptocurrency, were seen by some as a reason for the rise in price, which saw a boost after the "Bitcoin Cash" clone was created at the start of August."Investors are seeing the lessons of history in the up-and-coming forks and hoping for an extra dividend," said Charles Hayter, co-founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare, adding that rumours on online forums that China could reopen exchanges could also be affecting the price. (indiatimes.com)

Bitcoin Surges Past $5,000 for the First Time Amid Staggering Cryptocurrency Run
So far this month, bitcoin prices have risen nearly 20% and have surged from $966.30 at the start of the year. At the current levels, a single bitcoin is now worth 4 troy ounces of gold, based on current spot prices. Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time ever in early Thursday trading, extending its incredible year-to-date gains to trade at a level that is now four times the price of gold. I don't know which tech will win out in the end, so the question is whether bitcoin levels are sustainable if it doesn't," he told CNBC Thursday. Bitcoin prices were marked $415, or 8.6%, higher on the Bitsmap exchange in London Thursday to change hands at an all-time high of $5,240 each before paring gains to around $5,221. (thestreet.com)

Why Big Banks are so Nervous About Bitcoin
However, there’s no stopping progress, and even with state-backed regulations trying to wrestle the money of the people under control, banks have every reason to be nervous. This is now a legitimate threat on traditional banks. In fact, it is challenging their monetary system which is intrinsically linked to banks, and especially central, government-backed, banks. Banks are now in the sights of Bitcoin and are in their death throws, as they lash out with the power of states behind them. Regulators are trying to play catch up with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, realising now that it’s not going away. (cointelegraph.com)

More on these and other related news can be found at http://zentrade.online/bitcoin-news-digest-thursday-october-12-2017/