The crypto asset market rallied for a third straight week with the price of bitcoin gaining another six percent week-on-week to close at $9,400 on Sunday, April 29.
The bulls are definitely back, and this is not only reflected in the 30 percent rally in bitcoin since the start of the month but also in the increasing bitcoin futures trading volumes on the CBOE. April 25 marked the highest ever volume for bitcoin futures on the CBOE. 19,000 bitcoin futures traded on the exchange on April 25 were traded across all term structures, compared to the previous high-volume session on January 17 when just under 15,500 contracts were traded.
Even the news that the Mt. Gox trustee has moved 16,000 BTC to an exchange wallet, which suggests that he will sell more BTC soon, has not managed to deter the bulls this week.
An increasing willingness by financial regulators and lawmakers to accept cryptocurrencies as part of the new digital global economy has helped the markets to continue its spring rally.
The biggest altcoin winner of the week has been EOS (EOS), which managed to gain 85 percent, followed by TRON (TRX), which rallied by 65 percent and Cardano (ADA), which gained 31 percent.
This week’s contributions have been provided by Jamie Holmes, Nuno Menezes, Ogwu Osaemezu Emmanuel, Pratik Makadiya, Rahul Nambiampurath, and Shaurya Malwa.
Bitcoin Eyes Another Attempt at $9,500 Following Largest One-day Volume for CBOE Futures
April 25 marked the highest ever volume for bitcoin futures on the CBOE. The futures contracts began trading in December 2017, when bitcoin was near $20,000. The previous high-volume session was January 17, 2018, when just under 15,500 contracts.
In contrast, the May futures traded 18,210 contracts in recent days while of across all term structures, 19,000 bitcoin futures traded on the exchange on April 25.
In an April 26 video posted by the CBOE on Twitter, Options Institute senior instructor Kevin Davitt stated: “The average daily volume (ADV) runs about 6,600 in XBT Bitcoin Futures. Yesterday’s volume was nearly three times ADV. Yesterday was the highest daily volume for bitcoin futures since their introduction here at CBOE nearly five months ago.”
French Authorities Slash Tax Rate on Bitcoin-related Transactions
According to Le Monde, French authorities have declared that the profits generated from cryptocurrency transactions will henceforth be treated as capital gains of “movable property” hence, they attract a lower tax rate than what was obtainable previously.
Notably, back in 2014, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance made it compulsory for all revenues generated from cryptocurrency transactions to be taxed, even though the state did not officially recognize bitcoin at the time.
A spokesperson for the French ministry told local news outlet, Le Monde, in April 2014:
“For the time being, there is no declarative obligation in what concerns bitcoin. All taxpayers are required to declare all their revenues, including those originating from abroad. This said, there is a certain tolerance [from the state authorities] regarding minor and irregular revenues, for instance from occasional sales.”
‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver May Be Sued For Defrauding Bitcoin Investors
A group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts is considering filing a lawsuit against Bitcoin.com owner Roger Ver, claiming he deliberately misleads novice investors by exploiting newbies’ confusion between bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, which forked off the original cryptocurrency in August 2017.
The potential class-action lawsuit is being organized by Twitter user @MoneyTrigz, who is the co-owner of Coindaily.co.
The lawsuit is being discussed in a Telegram chatroom called “Bitcoin.com lawsuit/victims,” which anyone can join. The chatroom already has more than 444 members, but it’s unclear how many of them will join the lawsuit.
Ver (also known as “Bitcoin Jesus”) was an early investor in bitcoin startups. He previously backed the original Bitcoin but has since become an outspoken advocate of its derivative, Bitcoin Cash.
Chinese Police Seize 600 Bitcoin Mining Equipment and Arrest Unauthorized Miners
Per Chinese news outlet Xinhua, the police in the Chinese city of Tianjin have impounded 600 computers and other cryptocurrency mining equipment after the local electricity operator noticed abnormal power usage in the area. They promptly informed the authorities who then launched investigations and eventually discovered the unauthorized crypto culprits.
The security operatives have touted this latest case of power theft as the most significant in recent times. The illegal miners allegedly tampered with the electricity meter, in a bid to avoid being billed for power usage.
According to Xinhua, the electricity consumption cost of those 600 computers is estimated at “hundreds of thousands of yuan.” Five suspects are being investigated, with one person in detention already.
Stanford University Physicists Uncover Correlation between Bitcoin Transactions and Laws of Nature
The study, which was performed at Stanford University, found a strange connection between the digital currency network transactions and natural processes. According to the study, these findings may help validate and streamline procedures in the developments of drugs, and even help explain a new theory for the universe.
The Stanford National Academy of sciences authored by a doctoral student called William Gilpin published the findings. In the document, Gilpin explains how swirling liquids follow the same exact principles as digital currency transactions.
Transactions on the blockchain are encrypted using a complex mathematical sequence called the cryptographic hash. According to Gilpin, these hash functions operate by mathematically changing the digital information contained in a unique cryptographic output key that protects the input.
Similar to that, Gilpin argues that the principal laws ruling swirling liquids behave much the same way. The study begins with the following introduction: “An essential component of digital communication is hashing, in which a complex piece of information (a document, video, etc.) is mathematically transformed into a unique signature that can later be used to identify the original piece of data. Here, we show that this process bears a strong similarity to the chaotic behavior of certain types of flows observed when ordinary fluids mix, such as the stirring of dye into water. We use this analogy between rearranging information and stirring a fluid to construct a fluid-based hash function with comparable properties to traditional algorithms.”
Chilean Crypto-Exchange Allowed To Open Bank Account After Successfully Winning Court Appeal
Buda, a Chilean crypto-exchange which recently appealed against the unruly ban on cryptocurrencies placed by the government, has successfully been allowed to reopen its bank accounts, after a court order on April 26.
Following an unjustified closure of its accounts, Buda sued a total of ten banks, of which, Banco del Estado de Chile and Itau Corpbanca are now ordered to re-open Buda’s account.
Earlier in April 2018, Chilean crypto-exchanges said that government regulations are “killing the digital currency industry.” The country’s banks also found themselves on the receiving end of criticism, after the decision of closing down the exchanges’ accounts fueled protests and legal actions.
Guillermo Torrealbam, CEO of Buda, believes that Chile’s open and liberal outlook towards new technology is superficial, and the reality is different. He also talked about the failed efforts for any real blockchain development as the banks turned a deaf ear to their cry on Twitter and media, “Chile is showing its “B” side, that of being an extremely conservative country, even though we make huge efforts for the world to see us as liberals.”
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin to Boycott CoinDesk’s Consensus Conference
In a series of tweets, Vitalik says he was boycotting CoinDesk‘s Consensus 2018 event and is also encouraging other participants to do the same for some reasons which he apparently defines.
To start with, he was okay with risk on social media saying things as it is though, even if it attracts some enemies. “I’ve decided I’m more okay than before with taking risks with my social capital and occasionally having enemies,” said Buterin.
In a bid to further express his feelings about certain situations, Vitalik highlights the following as reasons for boycotting Consensus conference:
- First of all, he said CoinDesk was “recklessly complicit in enabling giveaway scams,” when referring to a publication which had a link redirecting readers to a scam site.
- Secondly, he referred to their coverage on the EIP-999 as “terrible,” and that it was high time pundits gets replaced by the prediction markets.
Philippine Government to Grant Tax Breaks to Cryptocurrency Companies in Economic Zones
According to the statement issued April 25, 2018, firms can not only operate under liberal regulations within economic zones but also avail several tax incentives provided by the government to boost job growth in the country.
Raul Lambino, head of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) which operates the economic zone, said, “We are about to license ten platforms for cryptocurrency exchange.”
Companies inside economic zones can be involved in any aspect of cryptocurrency business, including commercial mining, providing blockchain technology-based financial services and hosting Initial Coin Offerings. Companies operating a cryptocurrency exchange, however, will be forced to trade the fiat into digital currency at an offshore location to comply with the new regulation.
CEZA first began drafting rules for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies in February 2018. Prior to that, technology businesses and startups that wanted to apply for a license to work in economic zones had to show plans to invest at least $1 million within two years and pay up to $100,000 annually as licensing fees.
The authority is a government-owned and controlled corporation tasked with the management of the Cagayan Economic Zone. The creation and operation of economic zones in the Philippines are regulated in accordance with the Cagayan Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.
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Author: BTCManager.com
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