American Express Loses Ground in Plastic Card Sector

In the traditional world of finance, there are a handful of major players when it comes to credit and debit cards. Visa and MasterCard are the two biggest brands, but American Express is trying to make a comeback as well. Unfortunately for AmEx, a recent announcement by Fidelity Investments sees the company losing ground in favor of Visa and Bancorp. Unlike these financial services, Bitcoin is not suffering from fractured support, as there is only one currency in play that works for everyone in the world.

American Express Loses Ground in Plastic Card Sector

Keeping oneself relevant in the world of traditional finance is not an easy feat. even though there is very little competition in the plastic card market. Very few players are actively issuing credit cards right now, and it looks like American Express might be falling out of contention in the very near future.

After losing a deal with Costco Wholesale Group – which is set to hurt American Express’ profits for at last two years – the 12-year partnership with Fidelity Investments has come to an abrupt ending as well. Major competitor Visa will be one of the new partners for Fidelity Investments, allowing the company to offer Visa-branded credit cards products to their US customers.

It goes without saying the credit card market is becoming very centralized, as the number of important players is shrinking. Only Visa and MasterCard remain big contenders for the years to come, which puts the financial control of the credit card industry into the hands of just two companies. This is far from an ideal situation, as more competition in the market means lower fees for both consumers and merchants.

That being said, the new partnership between Fidelity Investments and Visa will bring a two-percent cash back to customers, and feature the new EMV chip security. Additionally, Fidelity customers will be able to use their new cards with popular mobile payment solutions, such as Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and Apple Pay.

Bitcoin Is Not Defined By Specific Deals Or Strategic Partnerships

Looking at things from an alternative financial services point of view, Bitcoin offers something no credit card issuer will ever be able to: financial freedom. Obtaining a credit card relies on a partnership with a consumer’s bank and a card issuer, such as American Express, Visa, or MasterCard. If that partnership would not exist, there would be no way to obtain a credit card, other than by changing banks.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, does not suffer from any of these squabbles and drawbacks. The popular digital currency can be used by anyone in the world, regardless of financial services, banks, governments, or anything else. In fact, it doesn’t even matter whether consumers access a computer, tablet, or smartphone, as there is a Bitcoin wallet solution for every type of device.

Furthermore, Bitcoin puts the end user in full control of their money, as funds is protected by the private key, only known to the end user itself. This private key can be stored online or offline, and even tied to the device used for Bitcoin transactions itself. Considering how this private key is a lengthy string of random numbers and letters, it is all but impossible to crack.

Credit card issuers keep a database full of customer information – including financial data related to the card itself – and store those forever. Once a database full of credit card information is breached, fraud rates and chargebacks increase exponentially, creating financial instability for retailers and consumers. Bitcoin makes for a more secure, globally accessible, and frictionless portfolio of financial services. bringing the competition to established credit card issuers.

Gold vs Bitcoin– the Investment Debate

Gold vs Bitcoin– the Investment DebateDespite the many disparities between the two, ever since the dawn of bitcoin, the volatile asset has often been compared with gold.

For some, bitcoin is more than just a currency. Some prefer to identify it as a protocol. Some prefer it to be a technological innovation. But for most entrepreneurs, it is considered an investment.

For some time now bitcoin has been regarded by a great number of people as more than just a currency. Its decentralised nature and medium to high-risk volatility have both attracted interest from curious and optimistic investors, and been met with a good deal of distrust, at least until it demystifies itself somewhat. However, with its drastic gains and with gold’s dramatic decline, what’s in store for investors in terms of these two assets?

The Bitcoin price’s sudden leap has been the ultimate signal evangelists have been waiting for to affirm that bitcoin will be soaring to great heights in the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, gold continues to decline intensely, with its current price around $1,075 per ounce.

One of the major factors contributing to the lack of friction in the gold market is that the wealthy are no longer very willing to spend so much on precious metals. Some attribute it to China’s falling stocks. This created a domino effect which affected most Asian markets as well. Some Chinese securities executives have already received inquiries from regulators regarding the drop in share prices.

Many evangelists argue that a complex and innovative tech such as bitcoin should not be compared with an asset like gold. There are many intricacies in the disparities between the two, notwithstanding the fact that both can be obtained through mining. Their limited status doesn’t generate enough reason for them to be adjacently observed either.

However, even with much debate, the quantifiable aspect of bitcoin may be just the reason why it is a safer investment, especially since Bitcoin’s value had been unwavering for much of 2015. Many analysts believe that this is a sign of maturity in the currency. There are continuous innovations that make bitcoin less demanding to use, lowering the barrier to adoption and opening the conduit to mass reception.

Still, volatility is a great point of concern. Bitcoin’s sheer instability and the accessibility of numerous other comparable monetary standards have eroded a lot of bitcoin’s charm. Subsequently, the Bitcoin business sector is seeing no immediate perceptible development and has veered onto the path of stagnation.

As real-world monetary vehicles no longer peg their values against gold, its appreciation in value is more meaningful, especially when accounting for low interest rates.

Gold hasn’t been used as money by the general population for a long time for a variety of reasons. Many analysts see bitcoin as the solution. However, brokers can now buy vaulted physical gold bullion in a split second, set up a reserve funds arrangement, recover it in any place on the planet with their prepaid card and even send gold to different clients. This has prompted a democratisation of gold investment. The incorporation with innovation has additionally trimmed down exchange expenses of purchasing gold, making gold a reasonable open venture for clients. The ease of gold exchange also allows firms to be surer of their worth and ward off the instability that is archetypal of cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have taken the route of an all-round better approach to profiting. In any case, they are only the start of an innovation that guarantees to upset the world of money in the coming years. Despite the fact that bitcoin and other advanced monetary forms have leveled, they have demonstrated that protected budgetary arrangements can and do work.

The combination of these two assets also adds another point of consideration for investors. There are gold-based online solutions that require crypto integration. Top monetary specialists are now predicting a decent future for this new model. Traditionally, gold was a difficult asset to move. This is no longer the case, as startups have been incorporating the metal into their cutting-edge innovations. The combination has made it feasible for any client to purchase gold for any purpose, sell it, redeem it, and use the assets in regular exchanges. Trading gold no longer means purchasing bullion bars and placing them in a vault. It has changed and is now quicker and more adaptable, making it more helpful for the overall trading population.

There still a lot of hope in the gold market, and there are still lots of reasons for people to buy. Both traders and analysts believe that their respective assets will be bullish in their own rights. For investors, their investment decisions should be based on the immediate need of their businesses. Gold has been around longer, but the price of bitcoin has that erratic edge to soar higher with increased demand.

Bitcoin Price prediction and Technical Analysis achieved

Bitcoin Price prediction and Technical Analysis achieved $433

China Shuts down Day's Stock Trading after Markets Crash; Bitcoin Not Impacted, Yet

Chinese shares experienced their worst ever start to a year after Chinese stock markets plunged 7% in their opening session of 2016 on Monday.

It began with an initial halt of CSI-300 Futures (Chinese Securities Index) for 15-minutes at a 5 percent level, a move that failed to stop the retreat. When the market re-opened following the temporary suspension, shares began extending their losses. As the stock market tumbled to 7%, China’s new “circuit breaker” measures were triggered, a mechanism enforced by the securities regulator to automatically prevent further volatility and losses in the stock market.

At 1:34 PM local time, trading was halted across the board in the world’s second-largest stock market.

Reasons for the Plunge

Factors such as the falling yuan, diminishing activity in a robust factory-intensive manufacturing economy have been cited as reasons for the 7.02 percent plunge which saw the market suspended for the rest of the day. The CSI-300 compromises of companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The Guardian reports a private survey revealed early on Monday that did not make for good reading for those who hoped the manufacturing economy will start the new year on a better footing. The private survey showed China’s factor activity contracted for the 10th straight month in December. Meanwhile, an official survey that focuses on bigger, state-owned firms showed a fifth month of contraction, during its revelation on Friday.

Another important factor was the dumping of stocks by investors who anticipated the end of a ban on share sales imposed last summer. The share sales ban was enforced by Chinese policy makers who – in order to support stock prices – came up with the drastic measure to ban the sale of shares by shareholders with stocks more than 5% to halt a plunge in stock prices. Estimates by Goldman Sachs note that the sales ban is likely to have kept some $185 billion of shares off the market.

The 6-month ban is speculated to expire at the end of the week and will allow shareholders to sell their shares again. However, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) hasn’t confirmed when the ban will be lifted just yet.

The slump is likely to have spurred on selling that eventually triggered the circuit breaker mechanism, bringing in further panic.

Increasing Bitcoin Adoption

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank recently cut its benchmark lending and deposit rates while lowering the minimum ceiling of mandatory cash reserves for banks as measures to improve a stuttering economy. Manufacturing numbers are going down. Inflation is being predominantly attributed to  increasing food prices. The Chinese Yuan is depreciating in value. The offshore Yuan is also looking at a similar falling trajectory.

All of the above factors are likely to contribute to an increased effort among investors to diversify and bitcoin adoption is already popular in China, a country that accounts for80% of the global  trading volume of bitcoin. Fears of the Yuan facing devaluation have already resulted in increased Bitcoin trading in the recent times. Although exchanges aren’t reporting a spike in BTC trading at the time of publishing, a possible increase in trading and price of Bitcoin will be noteworthy as a result of the crashing Chinese stock market.

Despite Bitcoin’s known price volatility, the cryptocurrency has seen a tremendous year in 2015, one marked with price swings, regulatory challenges, increasing adoption and further validation. Mainstream news outlets deemed the cryptocurrency as the ‘best-performing’ currency of the year, beating the U.S. dollar.

Bitcoin Price Not Affected By Chinese Stock Market Crash

The financial situation in China is anything but stable right now, as the continuing devaluation of the Chinese Yuan is causing a lot of worry and confusion. To make matters even worse, the country’s entire market crashed yesterday, leading to an emergency stop all trading activities. When all was said and done, the stock market lost 7% of their value in less than a day, and more chaos would have ensued if trading hadn’t been halted at that time. Time for plan Bitcoin in China by the look of things.

Also read: Walter Isaacson: ‘There Will Always Be A Place For The Original Bitcoin’

Chinese Stock Market Takes A Huge Bump

Similar to the Bitcoin industry, stock trading is one of the most volatile markets in the financial world today. Buying and selling of stocks happens on a global scale, and the amounts of money exchanging hands are quite staggering. After all, every stock represents a share of the value of a certain company, and the Chinese businesses are not so hot right now.

Ever since the Chinese Yuan started depreciating in value a few months ago, it was only a matter of time until the stock market took a serious hit as well. Despite tight capital control employed by the Chinese government to stop the currency outflow, the huge decline in value yesterday could not be prevented. In fact, all that could be done was stemming the flow.

Halting trading across the Chinese stock markettwo hours before the deadline is not something that happens all that often. However, with losses amounting to be the highest in over fifteen years for this time of year, the decision was made to prevent further chaos from ensuing. Noting a seven percent loss in less than a full trading day will go down in the Chinese history books as a black day for the stock market.

It does not take much to see the Chinese economy is not growing at the predicted rates. Manufacturing numbers are still going down – for five straight months now – and the potential for a ban on share sales by major stakeholders have contributed to the economic unrest in China, as well as international markets dealing with Chinese assets.

Bitcoin Remains Stable Throughout 2015

Despite what most financial experts may want you to believe, Bitcoin has been a fairly stable currency throughout 2015. There were very few “wild” price swings, and the overall feeling is how Bitcoin has become more mature in the world of finance. Plus, with a large focus on blockchain technology, things are looking up for the digital currency ecosystem.

Investors all over the world are considering todiversify their portfolios by flocking to Bitcoin. No one will be going all-in right away, but keeping a minor portion of a portfolio in the form of an asset that can be moved around the world without hindrance is quite appealing. Now that China’s stock market is in a slump, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a new Bitcoin price increase over the next few week, as more people buy Bitcoin for diversification purposes.

What are your thoughts on the Chinese stock market situation? 

Bitcoin Price Technical Analysis for 04/01/2016 – Go with the Flow?

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

Bitcoin price has been slowly trending higher since the last week of December 2015 and might be poised for more gains.Price is currently moving inside a short-term ascending channel visible on the 1-hour time frame.

Bitcoin price could carry on with its uptrend, although technical indicators are giving mixed signals.

Bounce or Break?

First, the bullish signals. Bitcoin price has just bounced off the ascending channel support around $425, hinting that the uptrend is likely to carry on. In addition, the 100 SMA is above the longer-term 200 SMA, which means that the path of least resistance is to the upside.

The 200 SMA has also held as a dynamic support level, which means that this might be enough to keep further losses in check for the time being.

As for the bearish signals, the oscillators are both pointing down, suggesting a possible buildup in selling pressure. Stochastic is moving down from the overbought zone after showing a bearish divergence when bitcoin price made lower highs and the oscillator made higher highs.

RSI is also on the move down, although this oscillator hasn’t reached the overbought zone. This means that it might still have a chance to move higher and draw some buyers to the mix. In that case, bitcoin price could still test the top of the channel around $445.

For now, the 100 SMA is holding as a dynamic resistance level, but a break above this area could be enough to confirm that a test of the channel resistance is underway. A short-term countertrend play could be taken on this particular test, especially if reversal candlesticks form at the top of the channel.

Longer-Term Outlook

Looking at the longer-term charts of bitcoin price shows that the cryptocurrency is still in the middle of an uptrend, with the 100 SMA above the 200 SMA on the daily time frame. At the moment, bitcoin price is testing the longer-term 200 SMA, which might also hold as a dynamic support zone.

Keep in mind, however, that the US dollar is enjoying strong demand against its rivals, whether it’s fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies. The Fed or US central bank just hiked interest rates last December, thereby driving up demand for US securities and the dollar itself.

With that, a potential downside break of the channel support could set off a longer-term selloff for bitcoin price, possibly back until the area of interest at the $300 levels. Stronger bearish momentum could even take it down to the previous year lows near $200.

 

Happy Birthday, Bitcoin’: The Most Popular Cryptocurrency Celebrates Its 7th Birthday

Seven years ago Satoshi Nakamoto published his famous whitepaper entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” inviting users on the leading cryptography mailing list to work on it, officially marking the start of Bitcoin’s existence.

On January 3, 2009 18:15:05 UTC, Satoshi Nakamoto generated genesis block or Bitcoin’s first block of blockchain. Modern versions of Bitcoin assign it block number 0, though older versions gave it number 1. The genesis block is almost always hardcoded into the software. It is a special case in that it does not reference a previous block, and for Bitcoin and almost all of its derivatives, it produces an unspendable subsidy.

The value of the first bitcoin transactions were negotiated by individuals on the bitcointalk forums with one notable transaction of 10,000 BTC used to indirectly purchase two pizzas delivered byPapa John’s.

On 6 August 2010, a major vulnerability in the bitcoin protocol was spotted. Transactions weren’t properly verified before they were included in the transaction log or “block chain” which let users bypass bitcoin’s economic restrictions and create an indefinite number of bitcoins. 

On 15 August, the vulnerability was exploited; over 184 billion bitcoins were generated in a transaction, and sent to two addresses on the network. Within hours, the transaction was spotted and erased from the transaction log after the bug was fixed and the network forked to an updated version of the bitcoin protocol. This was the only major security flaw found and exploited in bitcoin’s history.

Prior to the release of bitcoin there were a number of digital cash technologies starting with the issuer based ecash protocols of David Chaum and Stefan Brands. Adam Back developed hashcash, a proof-of-work scheme for spam control. The first proposals for distributed digital scarcity basedcryptocurrencies were Wei Dai‘s b-money and Nick Szabo‘s bit gold. Hal Finney developed RPOW. Bit gold, b-money and RPOW all used hashcash as their proof-of-work algorithm.