Investor: US Debt is a Death Spiral That Cannot be Undone, Buy Crypto

Kim Dotcom, a German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and a renowned investor in crypto, stated that the US economy will inevitably crash in the years to come.

If US markets deteriorate in the long-term, as predicted by recognized economists including Peter Schiff and Nouriel Roubini, Dotcom firmly stated that crypto will appeal to investors as a robust and stable store of value alongside precious metals such as gold.

“US Empire now pays half a trillion dollars in interest payments per year to service its debt. US debt increases by a trillion per year. It’s a death spiral that cannot be undone. Self-destruction and USD collapse are unavoidable. Get out of USD and US stocks. Buy gold & crypto.”

Merit of Crypto

As the most powerful economy in the world, the US economy has a significant impact on Asia and Europe. When US stock markets suffered their worst sell-off in recent years by deleting all of the gains made in 2018, analysts reported that Asia markets have become more vulnerable to a potential crash.

Kathy Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BKAM, said:

“It’s not in an environment of positive growth trend so the pressure will be exacerbated in the emerging markets compared to the U.S. market. Unfortunately, this is the beginning. I think that when we get sentiment shifts like these, they always last longer than we would like to see and we could see the selling continue for some time.”

Therefore, if the US economy experiences a major crash by 2020 as many economists and major financial institutions like JPMorgan predict, then it will have a more drastic effect on stock, real estate, and financial markets in Asia.

The debt problem of the US mentioned by Kim Dotcom has been shared by both economists and government agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently emphasized that the US has to stop ignoring the seriousness of its federal debt held by the public.

“Even if you think that public debt just doesn’t matter to economic outcomes, the thing you have to admit is that when we hit a downturn, governments are less likely to take significant steps if the debt is as high as ours is now,” Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said

Speaking to CNBC, Sonja Gibbs, senior director of the Capital Markets and Emerging Markets Policy Department of the Institute of International Finance, echoed the sentiment of Bernstine, stating that it will be more challenging for the US to stimulate growth and facilitate the expansion of its economy with its significant debt.

Unprecedented Growth Rate of Crypto

In the next 10 years, as the adoption of cryptocurrencies improves to a point in which merchants, retailers, and businesses embrace digital assets as a proper payment method, Dotcom added that then it will provide consumers with unparalleled financial freedom, increasing the value of digital assets.

“Crypto is replacing fiat at an accelerating rate. It’s still early days but within 10 years you can pay all your bills, goods and services with crypto. No more bankers and politicians gambling with your money at the bullshit casino. Encryption + Crypto = Freedom,” he explained.

Coinbase Downsizes More Than a Dozen People: Report

According to Yahoo! Finance, Coinbase has eliminated more than 15 people from its customer support, compliance, and fraud departments.

All three of these departments would seem to be of the utmost importance to the company, often simultaneously lauded and maligned for its commitment to regulatory compliance. Daniel Roberts, author of the Yahoo! report, acquired confirmation that there had been firings but could not get an exact count from Coinbase. The number comes from an anonymous source, so could be more or less, but one thing is for certain: Coinbase definitely downsized more than a handful of people.

Move Comes At A Time of Expansion

Coinbase made no mention of the downsizing on its blog, and according to Roberts’ source, higher-ups at the firm are “handling communications poorly.” From our perspective, this news is somewhat odd, given that the company has recently appeared in good health and just this past week expanded its offerings for its institutional clients. Of course, financial health is not the only reason for positions to be eliminated.

The report notes that most of the employees were remote workers. As it turns out, Coinbase would prefer to bring customer service and the other departments, as a whole, closer to home. Coinbase told Yahoo!:

We’ve learned that certain teams who are co-located are more efficient, effective, and happier in their roles. So moving forward, some teams—including Support, Fraud, and Compliance—will only hire employees into Coinbase offices.

Trading Down When The Market Is Down

Cryptocurrencies have been on a downward slope for most of 2018, from the highs at the end of 2017 and the beginning of the year. Smart cryptocurrency people tend to “hodl” when prices are low, and so trading volume at Coinbase and across the market has seen a concurrent decline with perceived value of cryptos.

According to the report, Coinbase layoffs have been expected by people at the company for some time now. It therefore makes good sense that remote employees in departments the company would prefer to have tighter control over would be the first to go.

Some experts predict an upswing in the value of Bitcoin impending. If this comes to pass, most other cryptocurrencies will inherently trade at higher prices, even if their Bitcoin value is steady or only slightly inclined.

Economist: if Crypto “Remains” Illegal, Adoption Will be Difficult

At Bloomberg Ideas, an event that features leading experts in various industries, George Mason University economics professor Tyler Cowen stated that if crypto remains illegal, adoption will be difficult to achieve.

“If crypto stays illegal, it will be ghettoized, and that will make it harder for it to spread ultimately.”

However, in major markets including the US, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK, the usage and trading of cryptocurrencies are legal, with sufficient regulatory frameworks in place to protect investors in the global digital asset exchange market.

Already Regulated

According to Cowen, regulation around cryptocurrencies as an emerging asset class has to be solidified further to attract more investors into the market and encourage merchants to adopt cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment method to fiat currencies.

For years, economists have mischaracterized cryptocurrencies as criminal money, an unregulated asset class, and an inefficient payment system, as seen in the recent outburst of widely recognized economist Nouriel Roubini.

The negative stance towards cryptocurrencies portrayed by the majority of leading economists has been expected by the cryptocurrency industry. As decentralized financial networks, consensus currencies challenge the fundamental belief of economists that fiat currencies serve as the base monetary system of the global economy.

But, it is of utmost importance, at least for companies that provide services in the finance sector, to consider the possibility of digital assets potentially competing against fiat currencies in the long-term due the declining trust towards middlemen and financial institutions by millennials.

As former Goldman sachs CEO and chairman Lloyd Blankfein emphasized, who previously stated that it is “arrogant” for economists and bankers to think crypto has no future, there exists a chance that cryptocurrencies could arise and evolve into a major asset class in the years to come.

“If you go through that fiat currency where they say this is worth what it’s worth because I, the government, says it is, why couldn’t you have a consensus currency?”

Hence, while the skepticism towards malpractices and poor protocols utilized by some cryptocurrencies in the global market is encouraged, intentionally mischaracterizing the asset class as an “illegal” payment method and currency is highly inappropriate and more importantly, inaccurate.

The Japanese government has recently allowed 21 cryptocurrency exchanges to form a consortium and self-regulate the local digital asset exchange market, with a national licensing program in place to oversee businesses in the industry.

The government of South Korea officially recognized the cryptocurrency market as a legitimate industry, acknowledging the blockchain as a core technology in the fourth industrial revolution. Gopax, a leading exchange in the local market, is financed and operated by Shinhan, the 2nd largest commercial bank in the nation.

Crypto is Not Illegal

Based on the regulatory frameworks established in major regions, it is evident that cryptocurrency remains legal as a payment method, a remittance system, and as a currency. Even China, which implemented a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading in September 2017, has recently recognizedBitcoin as a property under local regulations, allowing individuals and businesses to hold and send or receive cryptocurrencies legally.

Forked Coins and Airdrops: Using ICOs to Maximize ROI

Starting at the beginning of this year: the entirety of the cryptocurrency market has taken a significant hit with regards to coin value, affecting investors and prolonging the expected launch date of many public ICO token-sales.

Amongst those cryptos worst hit is Ether (ETH). The second-largest by means of market capitalization lost upwards of 85% of its value YTD and trades at $207.73 at the time of writing. A massive drop in comparison to its peak of $1,400 in January 2018.

The overwhelming negative volatility that has dominated the market spells bad news for investors and what’s more, there has been a handful of examples of industry experts and luminaries claiming that we are unlikely to see astronomical value growth again any time soon.

The Times of 1000x Growth Are Gone

Amongst these doomsayers is Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin who, speaking at an Ethereum Conference, claimed:

“There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.”

Additional highlights from Buterin’s appearance at the event includes his belief that well-founded and sustainable value increases are best achieved alongside wide-spread mainstream adoption. We have seen many examples of projects which promise to help accomplish this in the past, including blockchain powered mobile browser Brave.

For this to happen, DApps developers need to ensure the actual utility of their decentralized systems and that it’s at least as seamless and as efficient as centralized platforms.

Good ICOs vs Inflatable Forks

ICOs have become one of the defining aspects of blockchain and cryptocurrency between 2017 and now, however, they have seen their fair share of criticisms.

One of the most prominent of these regards’ tokens with insufficient unique qualities, or use cases, in comparison to pre-existing tokens. In the case of such tokens being forks, many attribute those unsuccessful to an over-inflation of their parent-tokens’ value.

Others, however, offer innovative and tested solutions which promise to deliver considerable value at a utilitarian and economic level – and better yet, many of these also provide attractive investor incentives such as airdrops and referral bonuses.

How to Use Good-ICOs to Maximize Investments

Another intriguing method which some ICOs are implementing is to fix ETH at a certain price point, pegging it to their issued tokens or coins.

One example of these is the ‘Depository Network’. It is an upcoming ICO which intends to provide perhaps the very first ‘decentralized multi-platform collateral infrastructure’ and has fixed a price for ETH set to $800.

In other words, regardless of the current price of Ether on the major exchanges, users will be able to purchase DEPO tokens with ETH where the price for it will be set to $800.

For instance, let’s assume that the abovementioned ICO will be allocating tokens at $0.02 throughout the ICO.

If an investor was to take part at a time where ETH was trading for $200 on an exchange and the value were to subsequently appreciate greatly – over time due to the ongoing fixing of $800 for 1 ETH.

Other Prime Examples

The Depository Network is certainly not the only project which does it. Moolyacoin, for instance, is another project which allows the same thing – an ecosystem created for digital and blockchain based start-up projects.

If you can find a project like this that you trust in (for recommendations, look at Hacked.com’s great ICO Analysis section) you’d get greater value for your ETH. Not only is it transparent and legal, but also offers a discount on the regular price of the newly issued tokens.

What do you think of this creative way to get a value of ETH higher than that on the exchanges? Do you have experience taking part in such programs in the past? What ICOs would you recommend? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

Bitcoin Doesn’t Move as Market Continues Stability, Volume Rises 20%

Over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has demonstrated the same trend it has shown throughout the past 12 days, with Bitcoin at $6,400.

The volume of Bitcoin has increased by nearly 20 percent from $3.1 billion to $3.5 billion, hinting a rise in trading activity in the cryptocurrency exchange market across major digital asset trading platforms.

The sudden rise in the volume of Bitcoin, which has been stagnant since mid-October, could lead to a potential short-term positive movement on the upside in the days to come.

Is Bitcoin Ready to Climb?

Various technical indicators of BTC suggest that the dominant cryptocurrency is building momentum to breakout of several minor resistance levels in the high $6,000 region.

Cryptocurrency trader and technical analyst Uzi stated that if BTC can surpass the $6,400 mark with ease, then it is possible for the asset to eye a breakout above the $6,500 mark.

“BTC looks ready to break out of the bull pennant on the 4H, price closed above the 50 & 20 day EMA today and MACD is bullish now, resistance is looking like 6417-6420 here, lets see if we can break it soon.”

The volume of BTC increased subsequent to the closure of a daily candle with lowest recorded volume in the past 10 months. During the weekend, the volume of the cryptocurrency exchange market tends to dip, alongside over-the-counter (OTC) markets that are said to process three times the daily trading volume of major cryptocurrency exchanges.

Hence, the rise in the volume of BTC on a Saturday is a positive indicator for the short-term trend of the asset. If the momentum of BTC above the $6,400 can be sustained throughout Sunday and continues on next week, the positive sentiment around the market will likely allow large market cap cryptocurrencies to rise in value.

Throughout the past week, in a sideways market, small tokens recorded decent gains against Bitcoin in the range of 5 to 10 percent. However, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash have not been able to demonstrate signs of recovery.

Von, another recognized crypto analyst, said that BTC is expected to hold $6,400 comfortably in the next 12 to 24 hours.

“BTC having a calm Sunday while kindly closing that Tether premium for us, currently $80 USD price very stable and Tether prices look likely to meet imminently I would expect $6,400 to hold and provide good territory for bounce, breaking that trés bearish.”

Still Conditional

While the trading activity in the cryptocurrency exchange market increased over the past two days, the majority of traders are still waiting out for the market to demonstrate a major movement.

A potential increase in the price of Bitcoin to the $6,500 to $6,600 range is dependent on the ability of the market to sustain decent volume and momentum in the upcoming days.

Johnny Depp Throws Hat into the Crypto Ring, Joins TaTaTu Platform

Announced today, Hollywood star Johnny Depp has signed a deal with a new cryptocurrency related platform called TaTaTu. The platform, like Depp himself, aims to provide social entertainment. A ‘New Approach’ To Entertainment With a name sounding like it’s from Pirate’s of the Carribean, TaTaTu is a cryptocurrency based platform that rewards users in tokens, as payment for interacting with certain content like movies and games (according to its website). The Hollywood Reporter news outlet announced today that Depp will work alongside Andrea Iervolino on the project. Iervolino is the businessman, entrepreneur, and movie producer behind the TaTaTu platform. Additionally, he operates AMBI Media Group with Monica Bacardi. Depp also previously founded a production company called Infinitum Nihil, which he will use to create movies and content for TaTaTu’s platform. Iervolino and Depp Together Depp and Iervolino already have things rolling and are shooting a movie together later this month, produced by Iervolino and his production company (AMBI), explained The Hollywood Reporter. The movie, Waiting for the Barbarians, is based on a novel by author J.M. Coetzee. The Hollywood Reporter disclosed Iervolino’s excitement to work with Depp, stating that “Johnny has the ability to conceptualize material in a way that few can, and is unburdened of conventional industry formulas that dictate the projects that get made, traditionally”.

Newsflash: Canadian Bitcoin Exchange ‘Hacked,’ Says All Funds are Gone

A small Bitcoin exchange based in Alberta, Canada, has gone offline. Before their Twitter page went offline, MapleChange had announced on Twitter that they “[had] no more funds to pay anyone back.”

In the way of an explanation, the exchange had, approximately one hour before deleting its Twitter page, said that a “bug” had enabled “some people” to withdraw all of the funds on the exchange. Educated readers may recall a time when Mt. Gox claimed similar problems. The handling of the two cases by their administrators was dramatically different. In the case of Mt. Gox, attempts were made to repair the damage, although they resulted in worse damage. They went so far as to near-nakedly manipulate the Bitcoin price in an attempt to recoup lost customer funds before anyone found out.

The MapleChange Twitter account possessed less than 2,000 followers.

By contrast, Coinbase has over 1 million followers on Twitter and lesser-known altcoin exchange C-Cexhas nearly 100,000. In short, cryptonaughts are generally highly active on Twitter and the viewership on that platform is a semi-decent way to judge the popularity of a product or service in the space.

Experts, Customers Fear Exit Scam

It’s been some time since we were able to report on a good old-fashioned exit scam. In the crypto space, we have primarily seen them in gambling, the dark web, and exchanges. The recipe is basic: gather trust of some clientele, get all their funds in one place, and run off with the money. It doesn’t actually matter the method by which you run off with the money, whether you claim a hack or simply up and disappear. The less-frequent (today) practice is precisely where the old wisdom of keeping one’s coins off exchanges and the like overnight comes from. You never know what’s going to happen next, and in cryptocurrency, you don’t have anything if you don’t have your own private keys. It’s just the nature of the thing.

Unfortunately, the MapleChange “hack” has all the signs of an exit scam.

For starters, there’s no need for the exchange to delete its social media pages or completely disappear in quite the fashion it has. There is no question that it is in debt to a number of depositors, gratefully a likely small number, but in business such things happen, and that’s what insurance or bankruptcy courts are for.

The short span of time between the announcement of the “bug” and the total disappearance of the exchange or its operators is another signal.

The domain itself, registered at GoDaddy by one “Flavius P,” is suspect. Most professional operations go to some lengths to be above board, especially those that handle other people’s money.

The timing of the problems is another significant factor in guessing that this is not a hack or a bug at all, but rather an elaborate, premeditated scam. As you can see by MapleChange.com’s recent traffic statistics, they were most probably doing more business over the last week than they had in recent times. If they are guilty of fraud, they struck early on a Sunday morning when they likely expected most clients to be sound asleep.

This story will be updated as new information becomes available. MapleChange representatives are welcome to reach out to CCN with more information.