Weekly Recap: Bitcoin and Ethereum Fall in Tandem
Bitcoin took investors by surprise on March 13th after surging to a new all-time high of $61,800. As late buyers began to enter the market in anticipation of higher highs, the Tom DeMark (TD) Sequential indicator sensed that BTC’s uptrend was about to reach exhaustion. This technical index presented a sell signal on the 4-hour chart projecting that a steep correction was underway.
Reuters’s interview with a senior government official in India who stated that the nation would almost certainly ban cryptocurrencies seems to have been the pullback’s catalyst. The report reignited fear among crypto enthusiasts in that nation as the new bill would make holding any digital assets a criminal offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
Following the news on India’s crypto ban, analytics firm CryptoQuant suggested over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin were sent to a US-based exchange. Such a massive transfer of tokens to a single exchange could have had the ability to tank BTC’s market value and affect the cryptocurrency industry’s stability.
As emotions ran high, many of the so-called “weak hands” panic sold their holdings, leading to a significant decline. Bitcoin dropped by nearly 12% from Monday’s open, March 15th, of $60,450 to hit a low of $53,180, according to CEX.IO’s exchange rate.
Despite the chaotic beginning of the week, a new wave of positive developments came next, helping Bitcoin recover some of the losses incurred.
Morgan Stanley announced that it would offer a selection of its clients’ exposure to Bitcoin. The American multinational investment bank is also reportedly in conversations to purchase one of Koreas’ largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Moreover, SBI Crypto, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, revealed that its mining pool service would allow miners to earn from collaborating. At the same time, Chinese tech giant Meitu added 386 BTC and 16,000 ETH to its portfolio.
Now that a Blomberg survey revealed that between $10 billion to $40 billion from the new US stimulus checks could flow into cryptocurrencies, investors seem to have regained confidence in Bitcoin. Prices were able to bounce back and close the week at $58,135.
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Although Bitcoin holders incurred a weekly loss of 4%, momentum is building for significant gains to come over the next few weeks.
Ethereum Closes the Week in the Red as Miners Rebel
India’s crypto ban also seems to have had a big impact on Ethereum’s price. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization took a 10% nosedive after opening the weekly trading session at $1,885, going as low as $1,714, according to CEX.IO’s exchange rate. Although this support level helped prevent Ether from a steeper decline, uncertainty mounts around this altcoin’s future.
Several Ethereum miners plan to move their hashrate to Ethermine for 51 hours on April 1st to protest against EIP-1559. This protocol update introduces a fee burn “ETH buyback” mechanism, which affects the revenue miners can earn.
Ether miners’ ability to coordinate such type of action put in question the network’s decentralization. But it also allowed Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and developer Danny Ryan to agree to push ETH 2.0’s Phase 1.5 forward. The move will help the blockchain achieve the scalability it desperately needs and make miners obsolete.
Buterin got immediate support from ConsenSys, which reported on the update in a blog post titled “Proof of Stake Is Coming To Ethereum Sooner Than We Think.”
Since Phase 1.5 is not set in stone yet, Matt Garnet argued that there could be other ways to reduce transaction fees without rushing things. The Ethereum developer created a proposal that could improve support for transaction batching. While it remains uncertain whether EIP-3074 will be accepted in the next protocol upgrade, it shows that the community is actively looking for solutions that do not have a serious impact on the network’s stability.
Such commitment was well perceived by market participants, who gave Ether a vote of confidence. As buy orders piled up, ETH’s market value rose by 5.80% to close Friday, March 19th, at $1,807. Thus, investors incurred a weekly loss of 4.10%.
Sitting on Top of Stable Support
Transaction history shows that both Bitcoin and Ethereum sit on top of stable support. Nearly 830,000 addresses had previously purchased 490,000 BTC at $55,000. Meanwhile, roughly 1 million addresses are holding more than 14 million ETH, around $1,770.
Bitcoin and Ether will likely continue trending upward and may march to new all-time highs as long as these crucial interest areas hold. However, failing to hold above these key support levels could be catastrophic for the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. A spike in sell orders could see BTC dive to $50,000 and ETH to $1,500.
Konstantin Anissimov, Executive Director at CEX.IO
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
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Ethereum Miners unite with a #ShowofForce in collaboration with Ethereum Genesys Fork
IBC’s Khurram Shroff has joined the board of Ethereum Genesys Foundation as a show of commitment to preserve the decentralized nature of Blockchain. Ethereum has escalated ETH 2.0 merge, as Ethereum GENESYS plans a Mining Fork of Ethereum, in a move to save Miners from Quick Merge, and enable Defi and NFTs. Gregory Prekupec, Founder and Director of Ethereum Genesys, and noted Canadian Blockchain technology lawyer, has pledged support to the Ethereum Genesys Foundation. This multiple backing of Ethereum Genesys could turbo-charge the global use of ETG, and save Proof of Work Ethereum miners.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 22, 2021 / In a move to save the Proof of Work model of Blockchain, as well as Ethereum Miners globally, noted Canadian Blockchain technology lawyer, Gregory Prekupec, has pledged support to the Ethereum Genesys Foundation and Ethermine pool, to oppose EIP1559. An avid supporter of Ethereum 2.0, Gregory was instrumental in ETH 2.0 achieving its threshold. In light of these developments, Gregory has now switched sides to Ethereum Genesys to support the Ethereum Proof of Work Blockchain Maple Fork.
Last week, Michael Carter, author of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3368, called out the Ethereum Foundation on the YouTube channel “Bits Be Trippin”. EIP 3368 introduces the idea of increasing block rewards from two to three Ether, with a gradual decay to one Ether, over a period of two years. Carter is a prominent figurehead in the backlash against EIP 1559, which intends to reform Ethereum miners' fee structure, by burning the majority of fees. Its opponents point out that EIP 1559 will only take away tx fees going to miners, but will do nothing to reduce gas fees and block congestion.
The changes proposed by EIP 1559 will lead to a significant drop in miners' revenue, and eventual death upon the Quick Merge. Regardless of the opposition, EIP 1559 is scheduled to be rolled out in the London hard fork in July 2021.
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IBC Group was recently approached by Ethereum Genesys Founding team who wanted to save the Proof of Work Blockchain, for which the support was given in response to the ‘Quick Merge', and the Chairman of IBC Group Khurram Shroff joined the board of Ethereum Genesys, as a founder. Additionally, Toronto based Media Expert, Carmelia Ray has also joined as a Founder and the Official Spokesperson of the Ethereum Genesys Foundation.
The Proof of Stake model, which has characterized Ethereum 2.0 since its launch, is unlike the Proof of Work Blockchain traditionally associated with cryptocurrencies. While Proof of Stake Blockchain avoids the enormous energy consumption of the Proof of Work model, it introduces new challenges. Proof of Stake Validators have centralized power for securing and validating transactions in the hands of the Big 3 cloud computing providers - Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Although the EF encourages stakers to Stake at home, in reality, many are discouraged by the potential loss of revenue because of downtime, due to loss of power or internet connectivity.
The existing Proof of Work Blockchain is secured in more than 150 countries, with a decentralized network of over 350,000 miners, and the centralization of power in the Proof of Stake model has been unpopular in several sections of the crypto community.
As per Ethereum miner Clifford Griffith, “It’s a slap in the face for all the miners and developers around the globe who have secured the Ethereum Proof of Work Blockchain to date”.
“There is a massive difference in the energy consumption required for Ethereum mining and Bitcoin mining”, Earl Mai, Founder Ethereum Genesys, pointed out. “The Hash rate and computing power, coupled with world-class hardware design have enabled unprecedented efficiency capabilities”.
“We are shocked at the subjective moral judgments of the Ethereum Foundation, and their decision to shard the Proof of Work Blockchain, upon the completion of Phase 2 of the Proof of Stake Blockchain, and now we hear talk of the Quick Merge”, added Imram Siddiqui, CEO of HeTH Data Centers.
Ethereum Genesys plans a hard fork of the Ethereum Blockchain in partnership with #ShowofForce, on April 15st, 2021 at 16:20 pm EST., with the sole purpose of saving the Proof of Work Blockchain. The roadmap for this move includes fixing neglected EIP Flaws, reducing gas fees to near zero, and enabling micropayments, through DEFI, Dapps, and NFTs.
“We are the people’s Blockchain and we do not want to put our trust in financial fatcats, to secure our blockchain”, said Dwain Pereira, Founder of the Ethereum Genesys project, underscoring the need to resist the move to shard the Proof of Work Blockchain. “The barrier of entry, to help secure the network via mining, is much smaller for average folk compared to Proof of Stake, which requires 32ETH”.
In a document titled “Quick merge via fork choice change”, Vitalik Buterin describes how Ethereum can perform a “quick merge”, by rapidly moving from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, with limited changes required to Ethereum clients. In effect, this move would kill the Proof of Work Blockchain. The Ethereum mining community has responded with a commitment to the Show of Force, and the fork, planned by Ethereum Genesys.
Dissatisfaction, with the proposed shift to the Proof of Stake model, is being further exacerbated by a continued increase in Ethereum fees. The EIP-1559 fee overhaul has been scheduled for July 2021, and some estimates have miners losing as much as half their profits, as a result. In response, a group of Ethereum miners is now planning to come together for a 51-hour long show of force, on April 1, 2021. The miners will direct their hash rate to the 1559-opposed pool Ethermine, during this protest, hoping to harness more than 51% of the hash rate on Ethermine pool, which is publically opposed to EIP1559. This would be sufficient mining power to make changes to the network’s protocol.
“Centralizing power, in the hands of a few big fish, runs contrary to the ethos of crypto”, said Khurram Shroff. “The emergence of Big Tech giants, as the third party intermediaries that validate transactions, undermines the most exciting possibilities that Blockchain enables. Joining the board of the Ethereum Genesys Foundation is proof of our commitment to preserving the decentralized nature of Blockchain, which we see as the key to its identity”, he added.
About Gregory Prekupec
Founder of Ethereum Genesys, Gregory Prekupec’s practice is grounded on a strong corporate law foundation from which he has gained significant experience in blockchain. He advises his client corporations on in-depth contractual and transactional work, as well as taking care of his client’s corporate structuring and organizational needs as they grow and develop.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorymprekupec/
About Khurram Shroff
Crypto Whale Khurram Shroff, whose IBC group holds investments in over 4000 blockchain projects, has been an ardent champion of Blockchain and was also instrumental in the recent Proof of Stake launch of Ethereum 2.0, through an investment of 100,000 Ether. He is the Chairman of IBC Group, which is a substantial Global Real Estate and Tech investment company, that recently transferred their headquarters to Toronto, Canada.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/khurramshroff/
About Ethermine Pool
Ethermine is the World’s highest performing Ethereum mining Pool, headquartered out of Austria. Recently a group of Ethereum miners planned to come together for a 51-hour long #ShowOfForce, on April 1, 2021. The miners will direct their hash rate to the 1559-opposed pool Ethermine, during this protest, to harness more than 51% of the hash rate. This would be sufficient mining power to make changes to the network’s protocol.
About Ethereum Genesys
Ethereum Genesys is “The People’s Blockchain”. ETG is on a mission to continue the Ethereum Proof of Work chain. Supporting over 350,000+ miners globally and on track to offer negligible fees to encourage native chain micropayments and smart contract interactions, to enable the world of DeFI, DaPPs, and NFTs. Ethereum Genesys plans a mining fork of the Ethereum in partnership with #ShowofForce on April 1st, 2021 at 4:20 pm E.T with the sole purpose to save the Proof of Work Blockchain and enable a platform for the future. https://www.ethereumgenesys.org/
About Carmelia Ray
Media Spokesperson - Ethereum Genesys
Mobile: 647-928-6824
Toll Free: 1-855-321-LOVE (5683)
Email: carmeliaray@gmail.com
For more information or interviews please contact:
Neha Kaul, Your Wordsmiths - Content & PR
0504507068
SOURCE: IBC Group
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Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis – March 22nd, 2021
Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) – A standoff between commodities giants and shipping companies is prolonging the labor crisis at sea, with an estimated 200,000 seafarers still stuck on their vessels beyond the expiration of their contracts and past the requirements of globally accepted safety standards. In an effort to keep deliveries of food, fuel and other raw materials on schedule, some of the big commodities firms are avoiding hiring certain vessels or imposing conditions that may block relief for exhausted seafarers. The companies are trying to steer clear of crew changes, which have become far more expensive and time-consuming during the coronavirus outbreak. In an effort to keep shipments on schedule, some firms have asked their shipping partners to guarantee that no change will take place, according to emails and contracts reviewed by Bloomberg.Those requirements risk worsening a labor crisis already in its 12th month, according to ship owners, labor unions and the United Nations. More than a year into the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of mariners are long overdue for shore leave. Some have been working without pay or a firm plan for repatriation, and many have taken desperate measures: in one instance, a captain diverted his ship to the middle of the ocean and refused to return to course without a guarantee of relief.Prior to the pandemic, a ship owner could bring in new crew during routine port stops. That common practice has become a logistical nightmare with Covid border curbs. Some ports require lengthy quarantines for incoming and outgoing workers, others turn away vessels that have changed crews within 10 to 14 days over fears seafarers could spread the virus.In January, around 300 companies, including Vitol Group, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, and Australian mining behemoth Rio Tinto Group, signed a pledge to take action to resolve the crisis for seafarers. Called “the Neptune Declaration,” signatories recognized a “shared responsibility” and promised increased collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes.As of now, though, some ship owners and labor advocates say little has changed, and not all of the biggest charterers signed on. “We chose not to sign because we believe that our current practices in respect of crew changes are fair and fully respect the need for regular crew changes,” said a spokesperson for Equinor ASA, a major oil, gas and energy company based in Stavanger, Norway. “We do not charter vessels for any voyage if a crew change will be required that cannot be accommodated in our delivery schedule.” Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. oil and gas producer, has also declined to sign. A spokesperson said the company is “considering next steps.” The pact is “a work in progress,” said Rajesh Unni, a captain and chief executive officer of Synergy Marine, which manages more than 375 ships including container vessels and commodity carriers. Shipping has always had competing interests, he said, but companies that sign the Neptune Declaration “at least commit that they will then follow the standard protocol, which should then give you a lot more comfort that now we’re all on the same page.”What you need to know: Tracking the Labor Crisis at SeaThe fight over who should pay for the higher costs of crew changes is most acute for commodities companies and their shipping partners, which carry out what are called spot charters. Crewed vessels available on demand for anywhere from a few days to several months, spot charters make up 85% to 90% of dry bulk and tanker shipments in the commodities industry, according to industry group BIMCO.Some companies have stipulated no crew changes or asked for verbal guarantees before hiring a charter, according to emails and contracts reviewed by Bloomberg. Charterers have also used questionnaires to learn whether ships are planning crew swaps, according to ship owners. In one instance, a ship owner told Bloomberg, in order to secure a charter with Rio Tinto, he had to extend workers’ contracts, paid additional salary and promised to relieve them when the voyage was complete. He also had to confirm that no crew change was planned for the duration. “Rio Tinto does not use ‘no crew change’ clauses in chartering contracts,” the company said in a statement. “Rio Tinto aims to support the shipping industry and the human rights of the seafarers on which it depends. This requires collaboration between ship owners, who employ the seafarers, charterers and regional port authorities around transparency of information and flexibility on schedule.”The problem, labor advocates and seafarers say, is that the workers don’t have a choice either way. Ship captains often hold the passports of their crew – a convenience for port stops, they say – and ports are tightly controlled borders. Even if a worker wanted to walk away from his vessel, he wouldn’t get very far without a passport, a visa or a plane ticket home.The International Transport Workers' Federation, or ITF, which represents seafarers, is calling on the industry to do more to alleviate the crisis.There are still charterers rejecting charters unless they are given assurances that crew changes don't take place,'' said Stephen Cotton, ITF general secretary. It might not be as blatant as putting it in writing, but it’s still going on. As long as seafarers' lives remain secondary to companies' profits, this crisis will continue to unfold." Read more: What Happens When Tycoons Abandon Their Own Giant Cargo ShipsThe industry says it is the responsibility of ship owners to arrange crew changes and to ensure the safety and well-being of the seafarers on their vessels. BIMCO has encouraged charterers to share the costs of crew changes and developed contract language that requires companies that hire vessels for a fixed period of time – called a time charter – to do just that. Owners of ships available for spot charter, the group said, should change crews when the ship isn’t out for hire.Labor and industry groups want companies to be more flexible and allow tankers and dry bulk vessels to divert or delay deliveries to help alleviate the crisis in stranded mariners. Shareholders, too: A group of 85 investors that manage more than $2 trillion of assets, including Fidelity International, said in January that frequent charterers should be flexible about enabling crew changes and should consider providing financial support for mariners who need to be repatriated.“Charterers at this point do need to share costs and assume the delays they might face,” said Laura Carballo, head of maritime law and policy at World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden. “That’s their biggest argument: it’s about the delays. Sorry, we’re all facing delays right now. The world is only running because seafarers are doing their job.”Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries, which has interests spanning petroleum and agriculture, has instructed ship owners not to conduct crew changes while under charter, according to a person with direct knowledge of the terms and who asked not to be identified because the conversations were private. The requests were delivered verbally, not in writing.In response to questions about the stipulation, the company responded in a statement: “Koch works closely with vessel owners to ensure the safety and wellbeing of crew members. This is an issue we are watching closely and looking for ways to resolve.”Rotterdam-based Vitol has required ship owners not to make crew changes on some spot charters, according to people familiar with the company’s contract terms who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Vitol says that it has “sought to manage our shipping business in line with the standards outlined in the Neptune declaration.”“Wherever commercially and operationally possible we facilitate crew changes,” company spokesperson Andrea Schlaepfer said in a statement. “As a vessel owner and manager Vitol appreciates the challenges of the current situation but believes that with good management owners can maintain high standards of seafarer welfare.”The Neptune Declaration also calls on world leaders to change their port and border policies to ease the burdens on seafarers, following a September statement from consumer companies including Unilever Plc and Procter & Gamble Co. to do the same. Last month, the IMO recognized 55 countries that agreed to consider seafarers “essential workers” and encouraged nations that hadn’t yet to do so. That designation has no official definition, and the countries weren’t specific about what if any change it would bring to the port procedures.On Friday, the shipping industry raised concerns that, while the number of seafarers stranded has dropped since its peak, the improvements could be short-lived as governments and port authorities respond to the threat of new Covid-19 variants with stricter restrictions. Seafarers, many of whom are from developing countries, may also miss out on the ongoing vaccination drives, risking further delays and supply chain disruption.“The crisis is still ongoing,” said Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents more than 80% of the world’s merchant fleet. “Governments will not be able to vaccinate their citizens without the shipping industry or, most importantly, our seafarers.”(Updates with recent statements from the shipping industry on the threat of new Covid-19 variants to efforts to relieve seafarers. )For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.