Your Crypto News on Steemit January 17, 2018

• EtherZero (ETZ) - Ethereum Hard Fork with Start Difficulties!
• Bid for a Meeting with Roger Ver!
• Everything Red? What's up on the Crypto Market?
• Bundesbank Executive Board: Cryptocurrencies currently no Threat to the State Monopoly on Money!
• Google: More Queries about Bitcoin!
• Bitcoin Futures: No need to Panic!

---

EtherZero is a cryptocurrency intended to be launched through a hard fork on January 19th. In this Hard Fork an Ethereum-like network is to be realized without fees and with master nodes. However, several points cast doubt on the credibility of this project.

A chain split that does not split off from Bitcoin? This is a rarity for the larger cryptocurrencies, but Ethereum Classic is not completely unknown. In addition to the hard forks, which served the further development of Ethereum, in the case of Ethereum Classic in the middle of 2016, a part of the network has separated from the rest and has been going its own way ever since. Unlike in the case of Bitcoin, no further ones have formed after this first chain split.

EtherZero wants to break with this tradition and create a network based on Ethereum but without transaction fees. In addition to the lack of transaction fees, which should be replaced by a restriction of the transaction frequency, the introduction of Masternodes is planned. If you want to know more about the technical details, please refer to the white paper.

Masternodes enjoy a certain popularity. In addition to being able to participate in the entire network through decentralized governance, many are attracted by the 45% share of the block reward earned by the miners. For EtherZero, 20,000 ETZs would have to be deposited to set up a master mode. In the current presale, an ETZ costs about 30 cents, so even if you participate in the presale an initial investment of 6,000 euros is necessary. Assuming a total of 5,000 Masternodes (which is rounded to the amount of DASH Masternodes - the exact number, of course, can not be foreseen), there would be a reward of 1135 ETZ. It is difficult to make a well-founded assumption about ETZ's future price development, but the estimate of 10% of the Ethereum value, as estimated by ETZ's team, is extremely high.

Fork or not Fork, that's the question ...

The planned, in a chain split resulting Ethereum Hard Fork to EtherZero was announced at the end of last year, but canceled shortly after New Year.

Only three days later it was announced that the enthusiasm and support of the EtherZero fans had not fallen on deaf ears, so the plan to start a Hard Fork was resumed. In addition to this fickle behavior seems critical that an interested investor can buy now ETZ. There was already a presale, where there were 3,300 ETZ for an ether. This is repeated again: A chain split, which in principle should end in a ratio of 1 ETH to 1 ETZ, is accompanied by a presale in which there are thousands of ETZs for 1 ETH.

The fact that both a chain split and a pre sale takes place is extremely critical: where does the money come from? Did a massive premine take place or did the people behind EtherZero sell their chain-split ETZ assets? These questions lead to skepticism about EtherZero.

These concerns are further confirmed by a Panama-registered Internet domain and a negative stance on the part of MetaMask - even though EtherZero's opinion has been raised.

The goals of the project, especially the Masternode, are quite interesting. Whether someone still wants to participate in a presale, is up to each individual. However, the question arises as to whether investors will transfer their Ethereum holdings, if not already done, to a wallet where they hold the Private Key. Should this chain split actually happen on January 19th at Ethereum Block # 4936270, then you will be able to call your own EtherZero anyway.

---

Roger Ver, a familiar face in the crypto industry and CEO of Bitcoin.com, is often referred to as "Bitcoin Jesus." Now you can bid at an auction for a meeting with him. The proceeds will be used to financially support the Antiwar.com website.

Roger Ver, crypto and peace

How was it in the beginning of Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin Cash the New Better Bitcoin? Why did you invest in Bitcoin when no one knew it yet? All these questions will be answered by a lucky winner, Roger Ver.

The meeting is organized by the platform Charitystars, which has branches in Italy, London and Los Angeles. Already in the past, meetings with Christiano Ronaldo or Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have come about through the platform.

"Our goal is to make donations fun and rewarding," Charitystars explained. "Winners have the chance to live the dream. Stars, manufacturers and private donors support things they are interested in and donor organizations need to spend less time raising funds and spending more time pushing for positive change, "the company described the reason for its existence. More than 1000 celebrities and brands have already participated in such events; Among others, "Jessie J, Valentino Rossi, Andy Murray, James Blunt, Vivienne Westwood, Vanity Fair and Red Bull have already concluded contracts with the company.

Much to discuss

In addition to his Bitcoin know-how, Roger Ver is an interesting man. He grew up in a religious environment, described himself as a computer nerd and read already in the orientation level books on economics and socialism. After he had laid down his American citizenship, he attained the nationality of St. Kitts and Nevis. He spends half of his time on the island nation and the other half in Japan. He also speaks fluent Japanese. If all of this is not enough stimulus for an interesting conversation, then he also runs a project where investors "buy sovereignty from the government" to found the first free society in the world.

From the donations Antiwar.com should be financially supported. The platform was founded by the Clinton administration to bring world peace a step closer. Since then, she rejects any military deployment and reports openly about missions that are not mentioned by other media. There are also interviews and podcasts on the site. However, the platform is not funded by advertising and can not rely on other media reports, which they believe could distort reporting.

Bidders can submit a bid until July 25, 2018 9:30 PST. Payments are accepted in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ether.

---

The crypto market has dropped to a total market capitalization of $ 475 billion. It goes down for almost all coins in the double-digit range. Stand on the exact backgrounds can now be speculated only.

If that's not a bear market, the entire cryptocurrency market turns deep red on Tuesday, with the 24-hour rate of change for each coin going from 10% to 30% in the negative range. The hardest hit with Ripple, Cardano, NEM and Stellar (ever -25% to -30%) just the boom coins of recent weeks. All of these cryptocurrencies have in common that they are supposedly cheap currencies that are to be purchased for an amount below or around the one-US dollar mark (keyword Pennystocks).

The entire market falls considerably and can now only 475 billion US dollars on itself. This brings it to its lowest level since Christmas, when it came in the context of large profit making in view of the holidays to a fall in price. For the key currency Bitcoin, the almost $ 10,000 that the cryptocurrency has dropped today is the lowest value in a month.

Really obvious external shock triggers are unclear in the clarity in which it was partly possible in the past. However, there are a few clues that could possibly take us in the right direction. Yesterday at the American stock exchanges, for example, the usual payouts of bonuses to the brokers took place, which usually strongly influence the movements in the market in the following days. A look at CBOE's and CME's trading volume reveals that Bitcoin futures have also been affected by heightened speculation. So it may be that big investors had set on a fall in the Bitcoin price to hedge or targeted to speculate. This principle is also called hedging in stock exchanges and enables profits to be realized both at rising and falling prices.

Another source of unrest could be China again. Apparently, the government there is planning to further restrict cryptocurrency trading and is opposed to private server access to centralized trading. Above all the market-strong institutional investors should be in the focus. The entire sector will therefore have to undergo more stringent scrutiny - from central exchanges and investors to wallet providers. More detailed steps have not yet been specified.

To what extent both events influence the currently highly nervous market can not be confirmed with complete certainty. However, it does reveal clues as to why this fall is likely to be temporary.

The crypto-bloodbath - An assessment of the current price drop

The last 24 hours were characterized by a crypto-bloodbath in the area of the cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin itself had to accept a price drop of 24% in one day and stands thereby still comparatively well there. What can be the reasons and light at the end of the tunnel?

Even if the picture on Coinmarketcap does not look so dramatic today, the only color there seems to be the red. Bitcoin itself has lost almost a quarter of its value in 24 hours, with much of the other cryptocurrencies making the situation even worse. Woe to those who put money into BitConnect, this currency can take a loss of value of 94%:

BitConnect Coin, however, is seen as an isolated case in drama; It has fallen into disrepute regarding various legal allegations anyway and has now closed its lending platform.

For a few reasons, the article briefly mentioned above: China's efforts to ban greater cryptocurrency trading via centralized exchanges will have led many investors in China to exit.

In addition, short positions, as set on the Chicago exchanges CME and CBoE in the field of Bitcoin futures, certainly have their share in the fall of Bitcoin, after all, the sales volume yesterday was significantly higher than another day:

Since Bitcoin has a certain standard function in the area of cryptocurrencies and many other altcoins are compared with Bitcoin, this has led to a general price drop.

Possible seasonal reasons

For these reasons, a few seasonal reasons were raised in the community. In part, the Chinese New Year celebration was called; Similar to the pre-Christmas fall in prices, this would mean that many investors in China liquidate their investments or take profits before the New Year. Coupled with concerns over regulation in China, this could be a cause, although the 2018 New Year is only mid-February.

Dramatic dips in January occurred virtually every year:

In 2017, a certain regularity of dips in bitcoin could be observed. About every 60 days (plus or minus one week, of course) a big fall in prices could be considered:

If this cycle is justified, is expected on the one hand with a recovery, on the other hand, one should then leave his holiday in mid-March.

Fundamental value of cryptocurrencies not attacked

Whether restrictive regulations in China, the stock exchanges of Chicago or simply regularities in the sales behavior brought the course to collapse: It must be noted that none of them attacked Bitcoin or other crypto currencies themselves. Neither has an algorithm been discovered that can be deduced from a public key on the private key, nor have the hash rates of known currencies collapsed. The decentralized networks continue to work - except for BitConnect Coin, whose value was fundamentally challenged by the suspension of the Lending Platform.

Accordingly, the fundamental value of cryptocurrencies has not been attacked. It has been pointed out that keeping calm is important in case of falls. While such times are frustrating, they can also be used to revisit the "why" behind cryptocurrencies, reflect on the meaningfulness of the technique, and consider whether it has been impacted by price movements.

The market is currently in the hands of those who are adversely affecting the market with Bitcoin futures and nervous people who are afraid of a ban in China or other regulatory measures. Stop Losses and Trading Bots, which further automate trading, are also contributing to the rapid development of negative momentum. Especially when important support lines are torn, a chain reaction can quickly be carried out on sales folders, which in turn lead to excessive falls in prices. In addition, the Chinese New Year or in general a big sales move to New Year is to consider - in addition to the mentioned 60-day cycle. As frustrating as the price loss is, none of these attacks can be said to question the fundamental value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, IOTA or others.

In this sense, prudence is the order of the day: we pursue the courses further in order to be able to strike again at a turn of the course.

---

Joachim Wuermeling is on the board of the Deutsche Bundesbank responsible for IT and financial markets. In a speech given on Monday in Frankfurt, he spoke about the opportunities and risks of cryptocurrencies as well as about regulatory challenges. His conclusion: "It is still not clear which problem solves a cryptocurrency better than state money."

Wuermeling said according to a published by the Bundesbank speech manuscript, that there has always been private money creation, in that they raise not entirely new questions. But private money did not prevail anymore when there was stable, functional state money. The market decides whether cryptocurrencies prevail as a means of payment or investment form.

The Bundesbank Board explained:

On liquidity, Wuermeling said Bitcoin's potential as transaction money was limited. High transaction costs and hitherto limited technical payment efficiency are likely to keep the majority of international financial market players away from Bitcoin, and trading is likely to remain potentially illiquid if not entirely avoided. From an analyst's point of view, cryptocurrencies are not sufficiently liquid and highly risky, Wuermeling spoke of a "purely speculative asset without intrinsic value".

He referred to calculations by analysts that the Bitcoin rally in mid-December 2017 even exceeded the tulip mania in the 17th century. The crypto-hype also reminds in some respects of the "biotech" hype and the "dot-com bubble" at the end of the 1990's. In terms of sustainability, Wuermeling also does not see a positive picture, especially the mining of Bitcoin's vast amounts of energy and thus increases CO2 emissions. Wuermeling believes it is difficult to predict whether stability risks for the entire financial system will arise through new cryptocurrencies.

The Bundesbank Board also explained:

He emphasized that the "regulatory toolkit is plentiful enough to limit harmful effects of cryptocurrencies when needed". However, this must be done primarily on a global scale. It remains a major challenge to encapsulate the phenomenon of virtual currencies in traditional national legal norms.

The state, however, has the task of preserving the interests of the individual and of the common good which are worthy of protection. "Cryptocurrencies will sooner or later become the subject of legislation, for example on consumer protection or tax issues," said Wuermeling.

Central banks need to weigh opportunities and risks with the new technology. "Some of this, like Blockchain technology, seems to be worth trying to develop the market infrastructures," said Wuermeling. However, most central banks are currently skeptical about digital central bank money. From the point of view of the Bundesbank, the main aim is to present all monetary functions through the state currency. The payment transactions with conventional commercial bank money, for example, should be kept up to date in order to enable, for example, cashless payments in real time. With Instant Payment, "the need for digital currencies in general and digital central bank money in particular is unlikely to materialize," says Wuermeling.

Recent developments have shown that - at least in orderly monetary systems such as the euro area - cryptocurrencies, neither as a means of payment nor as a store of value, are an alternative to state money. "However, if new functionality of digital money is offered, central banks will be able to present it with government money," Wuermeling said confidently. The effectiveness of monetary policy is currently affected by cryptocurrency in any way:

---

Due to the outstanding performance as well as the greater media attention, more and more people are interested in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. While it's difficult to measure the popularity of Bitcoin by numbers, searches can be a good indication of the increase in currency acceptance. The Google search engine has now published last year's data on Bitcoin search queries. Not only in the search engine, the search requests have increased, because even at Wikipedia, the search for Bitcoin should have significantly increased; Bitcoin is now number 9 in the most visited article.

Wikipedia: Bitcoin among the top 10 most visited sites

According to Wikipedia, Bitcoin ranks number 9 in the most visited articles of the past year. This emerges from the annual report of the platform. In this Bitcoin is also described as a "highly acclaimed future of money". According to the company, the article about Bitcoin 2017 was called 15,026,561 times.

A high point reached the traffic on the side on 8 December. At that time, the price of the cryptocurrency dropped unexpectedly by 20%. Despite the success of the cryptocurrency, the article also points out the "risks and controversies".

Google searches for Bitcoin reach record high

Also, the search queries on Google for Bitcoin have increased significantly. As the data of the search engine prove, the number of all search combinations in relation to the digital currency per month averaged between one and ten million. In addition, the data shows that search queries regarding the "bitcoin price" increased by 1000% compared to the previous year. Based on these numbers, the search engine assumes that between one and ten million searches were made in that direction each month. In 2016, there were only 100,000 to 1,000,000 searches in this direction.

In particular, searches increased "Bitcoin Market" (900%), "BTC Price" (828.5%), "Bitcoin Currency" (826.1%) and "Bitcoins Sell" (626.5%). Other combinations that were also searched more frequently than in the previous year were "Bitcoin Miner" (590.6%), "Bitcoin Account" (291.2%) and "Bitcoin Buy" (272.5%).

Although more conceptual links were sought more frequently in 2016 than in 2016, the increase was significantly lower for "Bitcoin Mining" (33.6%), "Bitcoin Exchange" (17.5%) and "Bitcoin Wallet" (0.9%) as with other combinations.

---

With the launch of Bitcoin Futures on December 11 last year, an influential financial instrument entered the crypto world. Anyone who has bet with the futures on today's fall of the course, could reap profits. It is time to re-explain the so-called futures contracts.

The origin of today's futures goes back a long way and is in the futures of agriculture of the 17th century. The deal was very simple: farmers and their prospective buyers agreed on the price and quantity of a particular raw material and secured it. The farmers could not only be sure that they would sell their goods. Rather, they could calculate with a certain price. On the other hand, buyers were able to hedge against a rise in prices - a win-win situation.

During the 19th century, the system was adapted by the financial system. Futures were used to conclude contracts, which from then on were termed futures contracts. Among other things, they formed credit insurance against banks and were thus fed into the stock exchange cycle. Today, these futures are available for anything salable. Orange juice, soy, oil - or Bitcoin.

Bitcoin futures and the bet on the course

So futures are agreements between two parties to contractually secure transactions. If a buyer and a seller agree on a futures contract, they determine both the date and the price of the respective commodity. This product - in our case bitcoin - is then traded on a date and time fixed by both parties. A speculative affair - especially in the area of ​​cryptocurrencies.

Example, please?

Suppose, for example, that an investor expects the Bitcoin price to fall further in mid-January. So he decides to buy a futures contract. To do this, he has to pay in advance and make a guarantee payment - a percentage of the price he wants to pay for Bitcoin in January. In principle, he therefore bets on the price development with his commitment. Since he believes that the price is falling, this is called a futures short position. The amount of profit then depends on the difference between the purchase and sale of the contract.

The buyer of this contract then takes a long position - he bets on a price increase. If the investor does not hold upright and the price goes up, the seller will reap the profit. The special thing about the futures contracts is that ultimately no Bitcoin change hands - they only benefit from the price fluctuations (or not).

A safe business?

It now becomes interesting when the investor who takes the short position also owns bitcoins. So if he calculates with a certain price collapse at a certain point in time, he protects himself from it at the same moment. If the investor should now have owned a certain amount of Bitcoin in December, he could secure by the short position profit.

If the number of Bitcoins held relative to the amount distributed is now reasonably high, it is possible to influence the price. However, it is to be assumed that even in the case of such an influence, there is no cause for panic. Because to completely disassemble the market, should not be in the interest of hypothetical investors. So wait.

---

I do not know if I can do some posts in the next few days because a cyclone is raging here in Mauritius. Let's hope he will not hit us to much and the internet and electricity stay stable.

---

In case you missed my last news just click here!

I wish you all a lovely Wednesday!!!
ⓁⓄⓥⒺ & ⓁⒾⒼⒽⓉ
Best regards
@danyelk