Google Searches for Bitcoin up Over 400% in Venezuela Over the Past Week.

Eventually, Venezuelans have developed a keen awareness of emerging technologies and stores of value like bitcoin. In fact, over the past week, Google searches for the keyword “bitcoin” in Venezuela rose by over 400%. Some Venezuelans have begun to allocate their capital — which is rapidly losing value due to the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar — in bitcoin mining, with hopes to obtain a legitimate currency in bitcoin to purchase goods and items internationally on platforms like Amazon through bitcoin applications such as Purse.io.

The rising demand and interest in bitcoin in Venezuela also make the possibility of the replacement of national currency with a digital store of value such as bitcoin likely, considering that the national currency has already lost its value amongst Venezuelans. People are trying anything within their capacity to obtain US dollars, gold and bitcoin to ensure they can support their daily living.

Bitfury Receives $43 Million Bitcoin Sale Requests, Firmly Declines

Major bitcoin mining and blockchain technology firm Bitfury reportedly received bids from various investors and assets under management (AUM) funds over the past week as bitcoin price surged past US$800. In response, Bitfury Vice Chairman George Kikvadze firmly declined their offers, stating that the company isn’t and will not be interested in selling their bitcoin in the future.

Halving History Suggests Bitcoin Price Is Heading for $11,210

The two network halvings in bitcoin’s almost eight year history probably play more of a role in pricing than is continuously acknowledged in the financial analysis of the Bitcoin price.
In November 2012, the halving propelled interest, demand and disinflationary mechanisms; all which led to a continuation of the price increase, according to many Bitcoin participants.
Bitcoin’s major price gains the following year were well broadcast by mainstream media, with Bitcoin being featured on flagship television shows across the globe. The context of July 2016’s halving has likewise taken place amid attention-grabbing Bitcoin price increases. The correlation and/or causation between these two events are still subject to much speculation.

The halving in November 2012, when the price was $13, preceded the aforementioned $238 all-time high reached in early April 2013 by nearly six months. That’s a 1,731 percent increase from the halving to the next peak, a Bitcoin all-time high of approximately $1,122. The next halving took place on July 9, 2020.
On January 14, 2020, Bitcoin traded at $177, it’s nadir since the previous $1,122 high had been reached in late 2013. On the halving day 2016, the price of Bitcoin stood at $648. It had steadily climbed. Its topsy-turvy price formations had by-and-large helped people miss the newly awoken bull.
Since July, when the halving took place, Bitcoin’s price increases have only become more dramatic. Where this current price increase ends is anyone’s guess. 1,730 percent (the percentage price increase after halving 2012) of $648 comes to about $11,210.

Bitcoin Investors Should Send A Thank You Note To Modi And Maduro

Bitcoin is racing towards the $1000 mark again. And the recent currency policies of India's Modi and Venezuela's Maduro may have something to do with it.
How? By pushing people into Bitcoins—the digital currency rally coincides with Modi’s and Maduro’s efforts to get rid of old currency notes.
Prime Minister Modi and President Maduro have very little in common -- except they have pursued policies recently that replace large notes in circulation with new notes (India) or with coins (Venezuela).
For a good purpose, of course. Prime Minister Modi has been trying to fight corruption, a widespread problem in India. And President Maduro has been trying to fend off capital flight from the ailing Venezuelan economy.
While both policies have had some success in achieving their objectives, they’ve had a serious side effect, too: undermining public confidence in national currencies as a store of wealth. Why hold a currency that can be printed in unlimited amounts and which has an expiration date?
Of course, the public can hold dollars, euros, yen, and yuan, but those can be manipulated, too.
That’s not the case with Bitcoins, which cannot be manipulated by governments, and therefore, can serve as a good alternative to national currencies.

Walmart Testing Blockchain Technology for Supply Chain Management.

U.S. retail giant, Walmart, is about to start a major test of blockchain technology for supply chain management, The Wall Street Journal reports. A pilot project, which will start in the first quarter of 2017 and run for four months, plans to leverage distributed ledger technology to track and trace pork in China and produce in the U.S. — two high-volume product categories with large markets.

How Freelancers in India Use Bitcoin to Increase Their Real Wages.

Bitcoin activity in India has been on the rise over the past few months, and a new partnership between bitcoin exchange, Unocoin, and payroll service, Bitwage, may help that growth continue. This new partnership is designed to allow freelancers or employees in India to receive a better rate on the payments they receive from outside the country.



Freelancers in India have already been taking advantage of the better rates they get by telling their employers to pay them via Bitcoin rather than PayPal, and Bitwage has the potential to make the process of getting paid via Bitcoin much simpler for remote workers in the country.

Bitcoin Surges Above $900 on Geopolitical Risks, Fed Tightening

Bitcoin headed for its biggest weekly jump since June as rising geopolitical risks boosted demand for alternative assets.

The crypto currency surged 15 percent this week to $900.40 as of 2:38 p.m. in Hong Kong, taking its gain this year to 107 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The last time it was at such levels was in January 2014, when bitcoin was tumbling from its record price of $1,137 following the implosion of the MtGox exchange and tightening Chinese controls.

New Developments in Quantum Computing Impact Bitcoin

Quantum computing might be closer than we thought, thanks to a series of newly developed scientific methods. Furthermore, a new implementation of Shor’s algorithm increases the urgency of getting Bitcoin ready for the advent of quantum computing.

Bitcoin’s Price Teasing Towards New Highs.

The past two weeks has seen Bitcoin’s price value soaring to new levels since Bitcoin.com’s last price trend analysis. The fiat value per BTC came very close to this past June’s high but fell short at $778 on December 2. Since then, the cryptocurrency’s price has dipped roughly 2.3% to a low of $748 at press time. However, charts still look as though the price will continuing pushing through higher paths of resistance.

EY Switzerland Accepts Bitcoin and Installs ATM

Big Four accounting firm EY (Ernst & Young) has just announced its Switzerland branch will be accepting bitcoin. Furthermore, the professional services company will install a bitcoin ATM in the main building of its Swiss office.

India to Ban Gold Importation; Bitcoin Price Rally, Market Shock Imminent

Gold, which most investors and traders consider as the world’s safe haven asset, may be banned by India in the upcoming months.

India is one of the largest gold importers around the world, purchasing around 700 tons of gold per year. Experts state that the demand for gold in India is higher than most assets and reserve currencies, arguably making gold the most valuable asset in the country.

However, reports suggest that the government may be planning a ban on the importation of gold, as gold premiums reached two year highs this month.

Insurance Coverage For Bitcoin Exchanges Against Cyber Attacks

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has tailored coverage for bitcoin exchanges facing the risks of rampant cyber attacks. This sense of assurance may boost consumers’ confidence — but what else should they know about such coverage?

Korea Steadily Becoming a Cryptocurrency and Fintech Hub.

South Korea has become a hotbed for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology startups. Just recently the Korea Exchange launched its Korea Startup Market (KSM) based on blockchain technology, provided by Korean blockchain startup Blocko. Furthermore, the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans on regulating virtual currencies like bitcoin in 2017.

Bitcoin Price Jumps on Trump Victory

The shocking news of Donald Trump’s election victory rattled markets across the world, leading some investors to seek refuge in assets outside of stocks and bonds. The price of gold surged, as it usually does during times of uncertainty, but it wasn’t the only asset to benefit.

The cryptocurrency bitcoin also jumped to a recent high of $738 overnight, and was trading at around $726 on Wednesday morning according to Coindesk. That represents around a 3% increase from the $708 mark that was on 8th November bitcoin price.

South Korean Bank Creates Cross-Border Bitcoin Service

One of the oldest banks in South Korea, Shinhan Bank, has revealed it will launch a cryptocurrency remittance service using Bitcoin. A joint effort between the bank and Streami Inc. will oversee the cross-border service between Korea and China.

Parliamentary Member in Ukraine Declares Bitcoin Assets

(NewsBTC) – Ukraine is among one of the few nations to have a supportive cryptocurrency ecosystem. Even the major banking institutions in Ukraine have started accepting Bitcoin payments through their merchant solutions. In a first, Alexei Mushak — a member of the Ukrainian parliament — became the only politician in the country to declare Bitcoin as assets.

Scotland to Start Own Stock Exchange Using Blockchain Technology

(Bloomberg) – Scotland may get its own stock exchange using the latest, if unproven, technology to underpin the system. Scotex is seeking to raise as much as 15 million pounds ($18.4 million) to start a regulated equity market next year, according to a statement on Thursday. Executed trades will be processed by the type of distributed-ledger technology that drives bitcoin.

Its an Investment!

Unlike traditional forms of money, which tend to gradually lose their value over time due to inflation, simply owning digital currency is an investment:

1. Most digital currency has a fixed period when new coins are created, and a fixed maximum number of coins after which no new currency units can be minted. Because they are still in their early days, currencies like Bitcoin are still going through their inflationary period of coin creation. In the future, however, this period will end. Because some coins will still end up being lost in abandoned or forgotten accounts, this will create the conditions for ‘deflation’, in which your money will gradually become worth more over time as you hold it.
2. If more people use a digital currency this also creates more demand for it, which tends to drive up the value. This is similar to the way that the money of rich countries tends to be able to buy more than the money of poorer countries. But with digital currency you don’t need to emigrate to a country with a growing economy to take advantage of this and see the value of your money going up over time – you just need to switch to a digital currency with a growing number of users. Digital currency in general is going through its early growth period right now, meaning that the number of users is going up all the time.