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Comcast extends COVID support with hotspots and free Internet for new customers – Vermont Biz

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Vermont Business Magazine Comcast announced today that it will extend its commitments to help people connect to the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions continue to stay home while many workplaces and schools operate virtually. Comcast will continue to provide free Internet service for the first 60 days for new Internet Essentials customers, and free access to more than 1.5 million public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, the largest network of its kind in the country, through June 30, 2021. Todays announcement marks the third time Comcast has extended these commitments. Hotspots are scattered across Vermont.

Our teams have worked tirelessly to ensure our networkisoperating at peak performance andhelp our customers and our communities navigate this unprecedented crisis, said Dave Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Comcast Cable. For nearly a decade, weve been on a mission to ensure students have the resources they need to be successful. Wehave accelerated that work during COVID-19 by partnering with public schools to provide Internet for more low-income students and by working with community centers to create safe spaces for families to connect to free WiFi through Lift Zones.

Comcast has repeatedly committed to keeping its customers connected, and to make its services available to families and students who dont have Internet access. These commitments are part of Comcasts comprehensive efforts to help families and individual stay connected, and to help empower small businesses, during the COVID-19 pandemic:

For more information and updates from Comcast related to Coronavirus, visit:

http://www.comcastcorporation.com/COVID-19/

About Comcast

ComcastCorporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company withthreeprimary businesses: ComcastCable, NBCUniversal,and Sky. ComcastCable is one of the United States largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures,and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content throughits pay television services. It also providescommunications services, including residential high-speedinternet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visitwww.comcastcorporation.comfor moreinformation.

Source: December 7, 2020 Comcast

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The most important internet issue you’ve never heard of | TheHill – The Hill

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

As the 116th Congress comes to an end, the annual defense authorizing legislation (NDAA) is among its most important pending matters and tucked within it is the most important internet issue that youve probably never heard of.

While not as visible as COVID relief or continuing government funding, the massive Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA Conference Committee report addresses many important defense and non-defense issues, including the naming of military bases after Confederate officers, limits on the Presidents ability to withdraw troops from Germany and Afghanistan, a threatened presidential veto over the absence of a repeal of Section 230 and much more to say nothing of the roughly $740 billion in military programs the law would authorize for the current fiscal year.

Amid these, both the House and Senate bills and the Conference Report address an important internet issue that is not much discussed and not much understood outside of a small circle of industry, scholarly, military, intelligence and law enforcement experts. The resolution of the issue (which wont get the kind of attention that creating a new National Cyber Director will get) could have an enormous impact on the shape and future of the entire internet far beyond the military and defense communities. Labeled information sharing, to put it most simply, its whether the U.S. Government (or any government) should regulate and control information about cyber threats that is shared by internet (and other) companies with U.S. military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies or whether the sharing of cyber threat information by internet companies should continue to be voluntary and led by industry.

The issue is often addressed in vague terms, but at its core, it divides American industry, the tech sector and even the internet industry itself and its resolution will establish basic rules for how the internet is regulated by the U.S. government and most other governments.

The Fiscal 2021 NDAA Conference Report partly addresses this issue and partly postpones it. Thats not surprising, given its complexity and enormous implications for the shape of the internet.

Aside from the political fact that nearly everyone supports cooperation on cyber security between government agencies and internet companies, the debates over mandatory versus voluntary cooperation is further complicated by the fact that serious cyber threats to the U.S. originate not only from a foreign military attack, but also from anyone from a bored high school student to a professional crime ring. Cyber threats from any of these could jeopardize large parts of our economy or social structure. So, a major underlying issue in mandatory versus voluntary information sharing is that the problem thats being addressed is not just defending against a foreign military attack on the United States. It is, arguably, defending against any type of cyber threat from anyone.

The details are quite complex, but the core issue has been hotly debated for over a decade and even echoes policy debates over industry regulation that go back to the 1980s. Like several other cybersecurity issues, the issue of information sharing was highlighted by the recent report of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which looked at the full scope of cyber threats to the U.S. and set forth a wide range of proposals to improve Americas cyber security. The Commission singled out companies that are part of the defense industrial base (which could include quite a large swath of the internet industry) and concluded that they and other internet companies need some form of new, mandatory information sharing for the national security of the United States. Not everyone agrees.

Historically, there have been many mostly in intelligence, law enforcement and the military who believe that major internet companies should be legally required to rapidly share information about cyber threats with law enforcement, military and intelligence agencies. These advocates of mandatory and regulated information sharing are supported by some defense contractors and many businesses that depend on the integrity of the internet for their business. Generally, their view is that whatever drawbacks this form of regulating the internet may have are a small price to pay for the significant increase in security and stability that mandatory and regulated information sharing would offer.

On the other hand, historically, some including many internet companies have encouraged a voluntary arrangement with very few or no mandatory cyber threat reporting requirements. These advocates of voluntary information sharing are supported by some civil liberties groups and advocates of limited government regulation. Generally, their view is that if the U.S. Government regulates major internet and other companies by legally requiring them to share information about cyber threats, then this exact same requirement will be imposed on these companies by numerous other governments. Moreover, many opponents assert that new government internet regulations of this sort are clumsy, easily-outdated and subject to legalistic manipulation compared with voluntary information sharing, which is often flexible and rapidly updated.

Other opponents assert that mandatory information sharing on cyber threats is an invitation to widespread snooping by intelligence and law enforcement on innocent citizens who are simply using the Internet.

The issue has been addressed before, most recently in 2015, when Congress enacted the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) to deal with some major concerns about such cyber threat information sharing: confusion over what cyber threat information to share and with which agency to share it, as well as concerns over privacy protection and liability of internet companies that share cyber threat information with federal agencies. Among other things, CISA led to the establishment of a detailed definition of cyber information that could be shared, a procedure for internet companies to share it if they wished to do so and an opportunity for internet companies that properly share information to also receive cyber threat information from agencies. CISA also provided some privacy protection to individuals (by requiring participating internet companies to strip out personal information), and it provided some indemnification for fully compliant internet companies that share cyber threat information.

After five years, the voluntary information sharing program created by CISA has met with mixed reviews. A recent Homeland Security Inspector General report noted that voluntary participation in the new information sharing program has been limited (219 companies by 2018), as has the amount of cyber threat information that has been shared. Which leads us back to the central controversy over whether the sharing of cyber threat information by internet companies with federal law enforcement, military and intelligence agencies should continue to be voluntary or whether it should be mandatory.

The FY21 NDAA House and Senate conferees agreed that multiple studies of this controversial issue will be conducted but also agreed to some limited new areas of mandatory and regulated cyber threat information sharing: The Secretary of Defense will determine by next October whether a defense industrial base threat information sharing program that includes mandatory industry cyber threat reporting, is feasible and suitable and if it is, will implement the program. In addition, the CISA Director (the lead official in the Homeland Security Department responsible for infrastructure and cyber security) is given significantly expanded authority to issue administrative subpoenas to internet companies, legally requiring them to provide cyber threat information.

Many other countries will closely watch the implementation of these new authorities and evaluations. Either a continued voluntary or a new mandatory approach to information sharing has serious consequences for the nature of the internet and its relationship with governments everywhere and for the security of the internet on which our society, economy and security increasingly depend. Consequently, the issue of mandatory versus voluntary cyber threat information sharing will probably remain among the most important yet least publicized or understood internet issues facing both industry and governments.

Roger Cochettiprovides consulting and advisory services in Washington, D.C. He was a senior executive with Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) from 1981 through 1994. He also directed internet public policy for IBM from 1994 through 2000 and later served as Senior Vice-President & Chief Policy Officer for VeriSign and Group Policy Director for CompTIA. He served on the State Departments Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy during the Bush and Obama administrations, has testified on internet policy issues numerous times and served on advisory committees to the FTC and various UN agencies. He is the author of theMobile Satellite Communications Handbook.

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Top 3 Gainers Of The Week NEM, Aave, Synthetix: Leading the altcoin pack as Bitcoin stalls – FXStreet

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Cryptocurrencies have had an exciting week, with most of them posting double-digit gains. Bitcoin managed to reclaim its position above $19,000 but failed to overcome the hurdle at $19,500. Selected altcoins rallied massively, with some outperforming BTC.

NEM (XEM), Aave (AAVE), and Synthetix (SNX) elevated the altcoin flag above the horizon, posting 51%, 38%, and 23% in gains, respectively. Other altcoins that performed incredibly well over the week include Litecoin (18%), Ethereum (14%), VeChain (17%), Yearn.Finance (19%) and Compound (23%).

NEM emerged as the best performer in the top 50 after posting incredible gains since the week started. Bulls had eyes on $0.3, but a monthly high was reached at $0.28. Although the momentum is still bullish, a reversal seems imminent.

XEM/USD is trading at $0.26 at writing, but the TD Sequential indicator has recently presented a sell signal on the 12-hour chart. The bearish outlook formed in a green nine candlestick.

If validated, NEM could lose ground in one to four daily candlesticks. On the downside, support is expected at $0.2, the 50 Simple Moving Average at $0.15 and $0.1.

XEM/USD 12-hour chart

The Relative Strength Index has emphasized the buyers grip on the 12-hour chart. Although overbought, the indicator is still moving towards 90. The gap made by the 50 SMA above the 100 SMA and 200 SMA suggests that buyers are always in control.

Aave has been the decentralized finance (DeFi) darling since November. Its recovery has been impressive, having accrued 262% in gains since mid-November. This week was also yielding for crypto, with gains topping 38% at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, AAVE is teetering at $84 amid a looming danger for correction. The TD Sequential indicator presented a sell signal in the form of a green nine candlestick. Aave has already retreated from the weekly peak at $95 and is currently seeking support at the ascending channels middle boundary.

Trading below this crucial level could result in massive losses, perhaps to $40. The 50 SMA and the channels lower boundary are in line to absorb some of the selling pressure.

AAVE/USD 12-hour chart

It is worth noting that the bullish uptrend will be sustained if AAVE retested the upper boundary and sails through the recent high at $95. Gains above $100 are likely to call for more buy orders, creating enough volume to send Aave to higher levels.

Synthetix is trading within an ascending parallel channel. A reversal from the monthly high at $5.5 appears to have found formidable support at the 100 Simple Moving Average in conjunction with the lower boundary.

The token is likely to retest the middle boundary resistance before making the final approach to $5.5. Trading above the monthly high might boost SNX towards $10. However, some delay is expected at $6 (former resistance). Meanwhile, the bullish outlook is reinforced by the RSI as it recovers toward the overbought.

SNX/USD 4-hour chart

It is essential to keep in mind that the bullish narrative will be sabotaged if SNX slides under the 50 SMA and closes the day below the channels lower boundary. The declines that might come into the picture could be strong enough to push Synthetix to the 200 SMA at $4.4.

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Popular Crypt Analyst Says These Three Altcoins Are About to Take Off – CryptoGlobe

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Popular crypto analyst and trader Tyler Swope, who is the host of the Chico Crypto YouTube channel, has named three altcoins (one mega-cap and two small-cap) he thinks are about to take off in the month of December.

According to the video he uploaded to his YouTube channel on December 2, Swope predicts that Ethereum (ETH) and two small-cap altcoins are going to have a strong performance in the coming weeks.

Swope says he is bullish on Ethereum, highlighting the successful launch of Eth2s beacon chain on December 1. He reiterated that Ethereum was still in Phase 0 of its multi-stage migration from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, and he expects more successes for Ethereum in the coming year..

Swope also points investors to the small-cap German-engineered altcoin Unibright (UBT).

Unibright describes itself as a team of blockchain specialists, architects, developers and consultants with 20+ years of experience in business processes and integration, and says that it offers consulting, low-Code-integration tools, programmable DeFi and the Universal Business Token.

On August 3, CONA Services launched a supply chain project using Unibright.

He said:

Without enterprise, DeFi has been able to grow to nearly $14.5 billion in total value locked (TVL). What do you think is going to happen when enterprise DeFi is unlocked? That TVL will look like peanuts.

The popular trader also recommends Morpheus.Network (MRPH) as a project for investors to watch. According to Swope, the supply chain optimization platform has strong ties to Coca-cola.

Featured Image Credit: Photo via Pixabay.com

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Greater Gains Than Bitcoin – InvestorPlace

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Another moonshot prediction for the price of bitcoin todays prices could seem like bargains how elite altcoins could climb even higher

Mark Zuckerberg didnt want to be punched in the face by a six-foot-five Olympian.

Its 2008, and the Winklevoss twins are in mediation with Facebook founder, Zuckerberg.

You likely know the general story

While undergrads at Harvard, the Winklevoss brothers had an idea for a way for Harvard students to connect a social networking site initially called Harvard Connection, later renamed ConnectU.

They found Zuckerberg and tasked him with building the site. Instead, Zuckerberg morphed it into his own idea, called TheFacebook.

A handful of years later, Zuckerberg is a billionaire and the twins are pursuing legal action.

Back to mediation

With progress going nowhere, the Winklevoss twins suggest a sit-down with Zuckerberg. No lawyers, no mediators, just the original parties.

Zuckerberg has tentatively agreed but he has security concerns.

As the story goes, Zuckerberg is worried hes going to be beaten up by the six-foot-five, barrel-chested Winklevoss twins both of whom competed in the mens pair rowing event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The solution?

A meeting with just one Winklevoss, in a glass conference room, with everyone else out in the hall, watching.

Absurd as it is, it works.

Zuckerberg offers a payoff of $65 million in cash. The Winklevosss lawyer is ecstatic and urges his clients to accept.

But in what would go down as possibly the Winklevosssecond-smartest moveof all-time, they instead negotiate a settlement of $20 million in cash, and the rest of the $65 million in Facebook stock.

The outcome of that decision?

According to the twins, that $45 million stock allocation went on to be worth close to $500 million.

Now, you might be wondering if thats the Winklevoss second-smartest decision, whats the smartest?

Putting $11 million of that settlement into bitcoin back in 2013.

***What $11 million invested in bitcoin in 2013 means today

The Winklevoss twins were early believers in bitcoin. And they went on to become pioneers in the crypto world.

They launched Gemini, which is a private, licensed digital asset exchange where investors can trade bitcoin, Ether, or other popular altcoins Theyve been trying to bring a bitcoin ETF to market for years, yet thwarted thus far by the SEC And they launched Winklevoss Capital, which has invested in a number of crypto startup ventures.

But lets circle back to the good stuff

What was the outcome of that $11 million bitcoin investment in 2013, when bitcoin was trading at a single-digit price?

FromFinancial Times:

Starting in 2011 they bought up 1 per cent of all the bitcoin in circulation for a total of $11m.

By late 2017, with the price of the cryptocurrency surging past $10,000, they were worth a combined $2bn

With bitcoin now flirting with $20,000, that puts the Winklevoss stake at nearly $4 billion.

But the twins believe bitcoins ascent and their wealth is nowhere near reaching its peak

***On Monday, the Winklevoss twins predicted bitcoin will hit $500,000 per coin

Appearing onCNBC, they called for an eventual price of half-a-million dollars with a market cap of $9 trillion, though they didnt predict when this may happen.

Part of the bullishness comes on the back of a weakening dollar.

From Tyler Winklevoss:

Cash is trash and [high-profile investors] realize it At some point, it is hard to look at those data points and say that bitcoin isnt an incredible store of value

On this cash is trash note, well add that inflation appears to be ticking up. Yesterday,Financial Timesran a piece titled U.S. inflation expectations hit 18-month high on vaccine hopes. And the U.S. Dollar Index is now at a multi-year low.

Well dive into more details on inflation in tomorrowsDigest, but returning to bitcoin, the Winklevoss twins arent the only experts predicting huge gains from here. We recently profiled billionaire cryptocurrency-investor and former hedge-fund manager, Mike Novogratz, who pegged bitcoin at $65,000 next year.

Closer to home, our own crypto expert, Matt McCall, has his own prediction

In a friendly wager with Louis Navellier about whether bitcoin or the Dow Jones Industrial Average will reach 40,000 first, Matt took bitcoin.

Keep in mind, this was back on July 31st, when bitcoin was trading under $11,500.

Given the cryptos meteoric rise since, you have to give the edge to Matt at the moment (but not by much, given the strength of todays stock market).

***But in all of this bitcoin hype, whats being discussed less is the wealth-building potential of altcoins

For any newerDigestreaders, altcoins are simply alternative cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin.

Elite altcoins provide a unique twist on the crypto/blockchain/financial world that makes them truly unique and valuable.

They can also be explosive wealth-generators

As just one example, take the altcoin, Ripple (XRP).

For much of the year, it traded for less than $0.25.

Until November

As you can see below, on November 1, Ripple traded at $0.24. Just over three weeks later, it had tacked on roughly 185% gains, to $0.68.

So, how can a crypto investor distinguish between elite altcoins with major wealth-building potential versus the me-too coins which wont amount to anything?

Wed recommend turning to Matt and Charlie Shrem theyre the analysts behindCrypto Investor Network.

For newerDigestreaders, Shrem like the Winklevoss brothers was one of bitcoins early adopters.

He was one of the founding members of the Bitcoin Foundation in 2012, which aimed at bringing mainstream awareness to the digital currency world.

In the years since, hes advised and invested in more than two dozen digital currency companies, launched and managed numerous partnerships between crypto and non-crypto companies, and is now considered one of the most influential people in cryptocurrencies.

And yes, his early investments in bitcoin have made him a millionaire many, many times over.

***While bitcoin is getting the headlines today, Matt and Charlie believe theres a bigger story with certain altcoins

In short, Matt and Charlie believe that were at the beginning of the next crypto surge one that will take the strongest altcoins many times higher.

In a recent update to subscribers, Matt and Charlie noted that our broader culture is waking up to the fact that cryptocurrencies are one of the most valuable, revolutionary technologies ever created.

And as this awareness spreads, there will be an enormous rush into this asset class something they call The Awakening.

From Matt:

This awakening could singlehandedly drive the price of bitcoin and several other select cryptocurrencies to never-before-seen heights.

If you position yourself correctly, it could hand you a fortune that you could only previously dream of.

Now, one perspective for investors who might be cautious about the altcoin universe

Here in theDigest, weve written about something called an asymmetrical bet. In short, this is when the potential upside of a position is much greater than its potential downside.

In other words, theres no symmetry in the risk-to-reward profile. Instead of risking 1 to make 1, you risk 1 to make, potentially, 5 or 50 or 200.

If that tradeoff sounds too good to be true, consider some of the historical returns weve seen from altcoins

Back in 2012, Litecoin climbed 7,483% in five months.

During the crypto peak of 2017, Ethereum posted cumulative gains of over 10,000%. But that was nothing compared to Reddcoin up 132,712%, or Einsteinium at 262,195%.

To top it all off, theres Verge. In 2016, it shot up 1,362,400%.

***The safe way to speculate with altcoins

Lets be clear

Most altcoins wont see such explosive growth. And even though altcoins are an asymmetrical bet, theyre still a bet which means investors can lose money.

Given this, you should be wise about your investment amounts, as well as spreading your capital over a diversified portfolio of altcoins. Matt and Charlie preach these safety measures in theirCrypto Investor Networknewsletter.

But you should ask yourself is a small, reasonable investment amount worth the gamble, given how asymmetric these returns can be?

Say you had been a part of Verges 1,362,400% moonshot.

And your investment amount?

$150, which you got from skipping date night one week or that round of golf or dinner with your friends

That $150 would have turned into more than $2 million.

Thats the potential of an asymmetrical bet.

As we wrap up, some of the most notable investors in the world are seeing big things for bitcoin the Winklevoss twins, Paul Tudor Jones, Stanley Druckenmiller, Mike Novogratz, and Bill Miller, to name a few. But if Matt and Charlie are right,the truly huge money will be made with altcoins.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

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Three Altcoins Are Set to Erupt This Month, According to Crypto Trader Tyler Swope – The Daily Hodl

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Crypto influencer and analyst Typer Swope says he believes one large-cap and two small-cap altcoins are primed to explode in value this month.

In a new video, Swope makes his December altcoin picks, predicting that Ethereum and two crypto assets, each with less than $90 million market caps, will shoot to the upside in the weeks ahead.

Swope first says that he is very bullish on Ethereum, highlighting the successful launch of its 2.0 beacon chain. Swope emphasizes that this is just Phase 0 of what he expects will be a continued successful rollout of Ethereum 2.0 in 2021.

Swopes first low-cap pick is Unibright (UBT), which is built by a German-based enterprise blockchain solution firm.

Swope notes that Coke One North America (CONA Services) launched a blockchain supply chain project over the summer with Unibright and the Baseline Protocol, an open-source initiative that Unibright plays a major role in developing.

Swope also points to an upcoming demo event that will take place on December 10th where Unibright will unveil progress on Baseline-related customer projects and showcase their unified technology stack, which the company says is nearing a general availability release candidate.

Says the analyst,

Without enterprise, DeFi has been able to grow to nearly $14.5 billion in total value locked (TVL). What do you think is going to happen when enterprise DeFi is unlocked? That TVL will look like peanuts.

Swope also mentions Morpheus.Network (MRPH), a supply chain optimization platform. The analyst points to multiple overlapping personal connections between the two companies, speculating that Morpheus will also form a partnership with Coca Cola.

Swope notes that Benjamin Smith, the Director of Business Development for Morpheus is the son of Coca-Cola president Brian Smith, questioning whether the family connection may result in a partnership between the two entities. Carl Wood, who has been an active contributor to the Mexican Finance Executive Institute (IMEF) and, according to Swope, has worked with Coca Cola FEMSA, has also joined the Morpheus team, linking the two firms even further.

The crypto analyst predicts the supply chain company will link up with Coca-Cola FEMSA, which operates throughout Latin America, while Unibright covers North America.

MRPH is trading around $0.389 at time of writing and UBT is trading around $0.594 at time of writing, both according to CoinMarketCap.

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Bitcoin and Ripples XRP Weekly Technical Analysis December 7th, 2020 – Yahoo Finance

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Bitcoin

Bitcoin rose by 6.67% in the week ending 6th December. Reversing a 1.05% loss from the previous week, Bitcoin ended the week at $19,410.0.

It was a bullish start to the week. Bitcoin rallied from a Monday intraweek low $18,196.0 to a Tuesday intraweek high and a new swing hi $19,956.00 before hitting reverse.

The rally saw Bitcoin break through the first major resistance level at $19,268 and the second major resistance level at $19,884.

A pullback on Tuesday saw Bitcoin fall back through the resistance level to a low $18,279.0 before finding support.

Mid-week, Bitcoin broke back through the first major resistance level at $19,268 to revisit $19,600 levels before easing back.

5 days in the green that included an 8.25% rally on Monday and a bullish weekend delivered the upside for the week.

Bitcoin would need to avoid a fall through $19,187 pivot to support a run the first major resistance level at $20,179.

Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break out from last weeks high $19,956.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside.

In the event of another breakout, Bitcoin could test resistance at $21,000 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $20,947.

Failure to avoid a fall through the $19,187 pivot would bring the first major support level at $18,419 into play.

Barring an extended sell-off, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$17,500 support levels. The second major support level sits at $17,427.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.57% to $19,300.0. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to an early Monday morning high $19,460.0 before falling to a low $18,300.0.

Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week.

Ripples XRP rose by 2.69% in the week ending 6th December. Following the previous weeks 35.79% breakout, Ripples XRP ended the week at $0.62223.

Story continues

It was a bullish start to the week. Ripples XRP rallied to a Monday intraweek high $0.68898 before hitting reverse.

While falling short of the first major resistance level at $0.7843, Ripples XRP broke through the 23.6% FIB of $0.6274 before hitting reverse.

The reversal saw Ripples XRP slide through the 23.6% FIB to a Friday intraweek low $0.5430.

Steering clear of the 38.2% FIB of $0.5285 and major support levels, Ripples XRP recovered to end the week at $0.62 levels.

5-days in the green that included a 9.65% jump on Monday and a bullish weekend delivered a 5th consecutive weekly gain. A 7.98% slide on Tuesday and 12.23% tumble on Friday limited the upside, however.

Ripples XRP would need to move back through the $0.6181 pivot level to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.6931.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ripples XRP to break out from the 23.6% FIB of $0.6274 to last weeks high $0.68898.

Barring another extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside.

In the event of another breakout, Ripples XRP could test the second major resistance level at $0.7641.

Failure to move back through the $0.6181 pivot would bring the first major support level at $0.5472 into play.

Barring an extended crypto market sell-off, however, Ripples XRP should steer clear of sub-$0.50 levels. The 38.2% FIB of $0.5285 should limit any downside in the week.

At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was down by 1.93% to $0.61025. A mixed start to the week saw Ripples XRP rise to an early Monday morning high $0.62469 before falling to a low $0.60813.

Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early in the day on Monday.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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This family bet everything on bitcoin when it was $900 and bought more when it crashed in 2018 – CNBC

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Didi Taihuttu, his wife, and three kids bet all they have on bitcoin.

In 2017, CNBC spoke to the Dutch family of five when they were in the process of liquidating their assets from a profitable business and 2,500-square-foot house, to their shoes and trading it all in for the popular cryptocurrency and a life on the road.

Nearly four years and 40 countries later, Taihuttu and his family still don't have bank accounts, a house, or all that much by way of personal possessions. All of the family's savings remain tied up in highly volatile cryptocurrencies.

"We stepped into bitcoin, because we wanted to change our lives," said the 42-year-old father of three.

When the price of bitcoin collapsed in 2018, Taihuttu added more to his investment portfolio. He says he was always a firm believer that the cryptocurrency was poised for a major rebound. "I think in this bull cycle, we are going to see a minimal peak of $100,000. I won't be surprised if it hits $200,000 by 2022."

I won't be surprised if [bitcoin] hits $200,000 by 2022.

The price of bitcoin reached an all-time high on Monday, as it closed in on $20,000. And some analysts say the cryptocurrency still has a lot of room to run higher.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of investment firm Galaxy Digital, thinks this comeback rally is only just getting started. He sees bitcoin rising to $60,000 by next year.

And Tom Fitzpatrick, global head of CitiFXTechnicals, said the charts signaled that bitcoin could reach $318,000 by December 2021, in a report meant for Citibank's institutional clients and obtained by CNBC.

Taihuttu bought the bulk of his bitcoin holdings when it was was trading at around $900 in early 2017, just months before it reached nearly $20,000 a coin.

Even as bitcoin peaked, the family stayed invested in the cryptocurrency. Once the bubble burst, and the price tumbled down to about $3,000 in early 2018, Taihuttu and his family weren't deterred. "When bitcoin dipped, we started to buy more."

When I asked Taihuttu on our Skype call whether he was worried that we could be in the midst of another bitcoin bubble, he doubled down on his investment. "I don't see demand going down," he added. "I think we're headed for a supply crisis."

Part of what's different about bitcoin's rally in 2020 versus 2017 is that institutional investors are now adopting bitcoin, lending it newfound legitimacy and helping to erase the reputational risk of investing in the cryptocurrency.

"The 2017 rally was largely driven by retail investors, whereas this year we're seeing a massive influx from corporate entities and institutional money managers," said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics.

Old-school, billionaire hedge fund managers Stanley Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones now own bitcoin and big fintech players like Square and PayPal are also adding crypto products.

This kind of mainstream adoption is hugely important, because cryptocurrencies like bitcoin aren't backed by an asset, nor do they have the full faith and backing of the government. They're valuable because people believe they're valuable. So it goes a long way when bitcoin gets buy-in from some of the biggest names on Wall Street.

The surge in interest from mainstream financial players hasn't just reformed bitcoin's image, it's also fomented a supply shortage.

"The basic reason for the two rallies are the same," Greenspan said. "It's a matter of digital scarcity. There is a strictly limited supply of bitcoin available in the market, so when everyone is buying and nobody is selling, it can cause tremendous upward pressure on the price. What's different this time are the players involved."

The 2017 rally was driven by retail speculation, and in 2020, it's the billionaires and corporations that are buying bitcoin en masse.

"When PayPal starts to sell bitcoin to its 350 million users, they also need to buy the bitcoin somewhere," said Taihuttu. "There will be a huge supply crisis, because there won't be enough new bitcoins mined everyday to fulfill the need by huge companies."

And that interest from institutional investors doesn't appear to be slowing down. Six out of 10 investors surveyed by Fidelity in June believe digital assets have a place in investment portfolios.

Mike Bucella, general partner at BlockTower Capital, told CNBC in a recent interview on "Power Lunch" that retail investors are actually the ones missing out on the bitcoin rally this year.

"If you dig a layer deeper in the derivatives market, you notice that most of that derivatives flow has transitioned from the crypto native exchanges of 2017 to institutional products, like the CME," said Bucella. "I think this really firmly indicates that retail actually missed out on this rally this year. It's been primarily and firmly an institutional bid."

But not all retail investors are missing out.

Taihuttu put a couple hundred thousand dollars into cryptocurrency in 2017, while the price of bitcoin was still trading lower, and he has mostly stayed all in on his investment.

Despite 2020's massive returns and all the recent bullish calls around bitcoin price targets, the fact remains, a speculative asset like bitcoin is prone to seismic price moves in a very short space of time.

In 2018, the massive sell-off in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, was swift, brutal and worse than the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000.

2020 may look different than 2017's rally, but as an asset, bitcoin behaves in a cyclical manner. Each successive high is higher, and the lows are not quite as low, but bitcoin is certainly not immune to another major correction.

Though for Taihuttu, the bitcoin play isn't all about making a profit. He's already given half of his money away to charity, and his family of five has spent the last four years traveling the world, in order to spread the gospel of decentralized digital currencies.

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This family bet everything on bitcoin when it was $900 and bought more when it crashed in 2018 - CNBC

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Top currency regulator says to expect ‘clarity’ in coming weeks on bitcoin – CNBC

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

One of the United States' top financial regulators said Thursday that new regulations on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were coming soon, but he downplayed concerns that the new rules would be disruptive.

Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller of the currency, told CNBC's Melissa Lee on "Squawk Box" to expect "clarity" on cryptocurrency in the next six-to-eight weeks but said "nobody's going to ban bitcoin."

"We're very focused on getting this right. We're very focused on not killing this," Brooks said. "And it's equally important that we develop the networks behind bitcoin and other cryptos as it is that we prevent money laundering and terrorism financing."

Concerns about potential regulation were heightened last month when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Twitter that he had heard rumors that the Treasury Department was working to rush out new crypto regulations before President Donald Trump's term ends in January.

"This would be bad for America because it would force U.S. consumers to use foreign unregulated crypto companies to get access to these services. And long term, I believe this would put America's status as a financial hub at risk," Armstrong said.

"I think you're going to see a lot of good news for crypto before the end of the term," Brooks said.

The price of bItcoin has been a tear on recent weeks, setting its first record high since 2017 on Monday. The cryptocurrency has continued to trade in a volatile manner, but has seen increased adoption by major financial companies and high profile investors.

PayPal recently implemented a system to let user buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its platform. Hedge fund managers Stanley Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones have both said they are bullish on bitcoin.

Brooks said the new regulations would help accelerate adoption of crypto by major financial players.

"It may have been a bubble two years ago, but with more clarity, institutions that see this as a real thing are going to adopt at scale, which they've already started to do," Brooks said.

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Top currency regulator says to expect 'clarity' in coming weeks on bitcoin - CNBC

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Digital Gold and Geopolitics: Bitcoin as a Political Risk Haven – Forbes

December 8, 2020 | Author: admin

Is bitcoin an emerging safe haven asset in an increasingly uncertain world, or just another speculative instrument, a tech-ed up tulip for the digital age?

This question is central to bitcoins latest boom, which has coincided with a sell-off in the U.S. dollar and less luster for gold as the Covid-19 pandemic rages, sovereign liabilities balloon, the U.S. experiences its most tumultuous transition of power since the 19th century, and geopolitical risks grow in the Middle East and East Asia. At the same time, risk is clearly on for global investors: equity markets keep soaring while U.S. Treasury yields are climbing, with government stimulus and vaccine optimism driving bets on global reflation.

GeoQuants data helps us hazard an answer.In short: while bitcoin appears more like a speculative reflection of geopolitical risks than protection against them, it does get traction as a hedge against (growing) U.S. country risks. Meanwhile, gold continues to hold its ground as a safe haven asset, while the US dollar is losing it.

First, the caveats: bitcoin has only been actively traded since 2017, a short period coinciding with unique political flux in the United States, broader geopolitical uncertainty, a mostly-frothy run for global markets, and now, a global pandemic. A world where the U.S. is home to both growing (geo)political risks and investors most popular hedges against them i.e. the worlds reserve currency, risk free sovereign debt, and deepest equity marketswill complicate any analysis of geopolitics and safe haven assets, never mind one over a limited time series.

That said, the periods instabilityprovides an auspicious analytical backdrop, while the fact that GeoQuant generates daily political risk data at both the country and global leveland does so systematically with limited analyst interventiongives us a good shot at meaningful insight.

To keep things simple, we examined daily relationships between our topline Global and U.S. Political Risk indicators and the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY); Gold in dollar terms (XAU/USD); and Bitcoin in dollar terms (BTC/USD), all from 1 January 2017 to present. U.S. Political Risk is our topline risk score for the U.S. derived from our 22 fundamental political risk factors. Global Political Risk a proxy for broader geopolitical risks in the international systemis a GDP-weighted average of Political Risk scores for all 75 countries in the GeoQuant system.

Correlations (day/day) between GeoQuant geopolitical risk indicators and BTC

Gold has far and away the strongest positive relationship with both Global and U.S. Political Risk, correlating at 0.72 and 0.94 respectively, day-on-day. Bitcoin correlates at only 0.28 with Global Political Risk but increases to 0.65 versus U.S. Political Risk, while the DXY shows very weak correlations with both (-0.15 and 0.09). In this period, then, gold appears to have gained from higher geopolitical and U.S. country risks; bitcoin more from the latter than the former; and the U.S. dollar neither.

At the same time, although we may expect higher political risks to hurt U.S. equity markets, recent years have shown just the opposite: the benchmark S&P 500 is correlated at a positive 0.35 with Global Political Risk and 0.80 with U.S. Political Risk since 1 January 2017.Again, excepting some ephemeral periods during the U.S.-China trade war, equity markets have basically ignored, if not welcomed, a higher political risk environment.

At least in part, this dynamic isdriven by the everything rally in contemporary U.S. markets: as political risk has increased, so too has the S&P 500, bonds, gold, bitcoinand, of course, the Feds balance sheet. But it also complicates our story: if higher political risks have brought gains for haven (sans USD) and speculative assets alike, how do we know where bitcoin falls?

Digging a bit deeper, we see two important trends.First, when it comes to global/geopolitical risks, bitcoin looks a lot more like equities than it does like goldmore of a speculative play than a safe haven.Indeed, while the relationship between Global Political Risk and the S&P 500 in gold terms is firmly negative at -0.71 (implying that rising geopolitical risk drove S&P 500 values down relative to gold),this is only barely true for the S&P 500 in terms of bitcoin, with the correlation just -0.03. In sum, even when equities actively ignore growing geopolitical risks, gold does not, while bitcoin basically washes out.

By contrast,in the context of U.S. country risk, bitcoin looks more like gold than equities:U.S. Political Risk correlates at -0.53 with the S&P 500 in gold terms and a very similar -0.50 with the S&P 500 in terms of bitcoin. As such, given growing political and social instability in the worlds largest financial and consumer market, bitcoin does look more like digital gold, particularly given a persistent decline in the U.S. dollar. In fact, when compared directly, bitcoin is actually more aligned with higher U.S. Political Risk than gold on a daily basis (i.e. risk correlates at 0.41 with bitcoin in gold terms, per the figure below).

GeoQuant

This dynamic will be critical to bitcoins future, especially as the distribution of crypto investors shifts from East Asia toward North America and the specter of more forceful U.S. intervention in crypto looms larger.Whether U.S. regulation is tilted more toward co-optation (i.e.USD-backed digital currency, laChina) or coercion (i.e.restricting bitcoin miningand transactions also la China) remains to be seen, but its arrival is inevitable if bitcoin persists as an alternate store of value for American investors. Thus far, Chinese regulation has actually helped fuel the current bitcoin boom by limiting supply. Yet stronger intervention by the U.S.still the worlds most powerful sovereignwill push bitcoin a lot further from a border-less currency toward a more politicized medium of exchange. And that may ultimately be its undoing, at least for bitcoins true believers.

Crypto advocates often debate bitcoins raison dtre as protection against a future doomsday or as the currency of a glorious future. Our data suggests a less millenarian fatethough one more enduring than a tech-ed up tulip.

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Digital Gold and Geopolitics: Bitcoin as a Political Risk Haven - Forbes

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