CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Bitcoin price crossed two important overhead resistance levels earlier today and the last 24 hours' advance has biased the charts to a bullish outlook at most timeframes. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 discount using the code CCN29. Bitcoin Price Analysis Time of analysis: 14h30 UTC BTCC 4-Hour Chart From the analysis pages of xbt.social, earlier today: All of the timeframes are bullish after the past day's rapid advance. The trendline (purple) that has capped several attempts at advance during 2015 has […] The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: Bullish Days appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News. |
CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Day one of Scaling Bitcoin Hong Kong saw discussion and debate on proposals aiming to increase the processing power of the bitcoin blockchain. |
Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Goldman Sachs is a big bull on blockchain, the distributed ledger software that underpins digital currency bitcoin. In an "Emerging Theme Radar" note sent to clients on Wednesday, the bank says: "While the Bitcoin hype cycle has gone quiet, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are betting that the underlying technology behind it, the Blockchain, can change... well everything." In its most basic form, the blockchain records ownership of bitcoin and transactions involving the cryptocurrency across a wide network of computers, as opposed to a centralized ledger. Transactions are signed off by the parties involved using the software, checked by the network or the "crowd," then added to the blockchain — a long string of code that records all activity. Encryption in the software ensure these "blocks" can't be tampered with or altered. And the decentralized nature means the "crowd" police the whole system. Here's a diagram Goldman produced to explain how it works: Banks like Goldman are therefore keen to see if it can be adapted for use with traditional currency, rather than just bitcoin. Beyond that, there's excitement that it could be used for everything from issuing shares to "smart contracts" that only unlock funds once certain pre-conditions are met. Or as Goldman's analyst Robert D. Boroujerdi puts it: It [blockchain] has the potential to redefine transactions and the back office of a multitude of different industries. From banking and payments to notaries to voting systems to vehicle registrations to wire fees to gun checks to academic records to trade settlement to cataloguing ownership of works of art, a distributed shared ledger has the potential to make interactions quicker, less-expensive and safer. It's not clear whether Boroujerdi is talking about using the specific blockchain that underpins bitcoin for all these uses, or replicating the technology to build separate blockchains. I noted in a recent piece that some of the best-funded bitcoin startups are pivoting their businesses or tweaking their messaging to make it more about selling the benefits of bitcoin's blockchain to consumers or companies, rather than the bitcoin itself. Boroujerdi says: "Bitcoin was just the opening act, with the Blockchain ready to take center stage." Despite Boroujerdi's seeming runaway optimism, he does note that there are some drawbacks. One worry is the potential cost of developing and maintaining the network. Another is the lack of a regulatory framework. And a third is concerns over the capacity of the blockchain. But the big trends are encouraging — venture capital funding for the sector is growing, as is usage of bitcoin's blockchain. Goldman Sachs isn't the only big bank excited about the blockchain — in fact, most of them are. Thirty banks have now signed up to the R3 or R3CEV partnership, which Goldman name-checks in the note. R3, based out of New York, is trying to establish industry-wide standards and protocols for using the technology, as well as exploring potential use cases. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How the buying power of your dollar has changed over the past 60 years |
CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The price of bitcoin topped $400 on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index today, its highest value over the last four weeks. |