Bitcoin continued to garner attention globally as a national legal tender with Central African Republic becoming the latest suitor. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed the bill into law on Wednesday and his chief of staff Obed Namsio hailed the move as one that could forever change the economic fabric of a country that has been embroiled in rebel violence for many years now.

Namsio said the bill was supported by the president because it would improve the citizens’ status. He added it would open up new economic opportunities for the landlocked country. The new bill provides a framework for use of cryptocurrencies in smart contracts, payments systems, online trade, and all electronic transactions alongside the CFA franc currency. 

“This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries,” he said. 

Traders will also be capable of paying taxes with crypto and the finance minister Gourna Zacko who introduced the bill, believes it will ease cross-border transfers that have become increasingly difficult to do. These transfers will now become very cheap. Citizens will also be capable of undertaking legal financial transactions in the mainstream financial realms using crypto, and without necessarily going through middlemen banks. Cryptocurrency exchanges will not be taxed.   

The bill has clauses that prescribe up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of between 100 million to 1 billion CFA francs for anyone who breaks the crypto law. 

With a per capita income of only 750 USD per year, the country is one of the poorest in the region and world as a result of years of conflicts and war. This is despite having a vast amount of gold and diamond reserves. 

The country would, however, have to pursue an aggressive Internet coverage agenda to make this plan effective. It currently has an Internet penetration rate of just 7.1 percent and 355,000 Internet users out of a total population of 4.97 million people.   

It is not clear if and how the new move would help alleviate the country’s ailing inflation or GDP. Inflation has increased from 2.7 percent in 2019 to 3.3 in 2021. The country’s GDP also flipped to the negative last year at -0.6 from a 3.1 in 2019. Despite relying heavily on agriculture and mining, illegal gold and diamond exports undermine government revenue. The country is also embroiled in bad political and economic decisions, conflicts, and insecurity.  

The bill that governs use of cryptocurrency as legal tender in the country was unanimously adopted by the parliament last week. However, the move was not approved by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) which governs the Central African CFA franc regional currency used by the country and about 14 others. The franc is tied to the Euro and largely controlled by the West. Two ministers said the move to adopt Bitcoin as a national currency was a serious offense. 

The move was also criticized by former Prime Minister Martin Ziguele who said it was not a priority for the country, and that it was undermining the CFA franc. The decision could also be challenged in court by some legislators.      

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Just recently, the CEO of SpaceX – Elon Musk took to Twitter to reveal his current holding of Bitcoin. The conversation ensued during an effort to educate British author and film producer – J.K. Rowling on the subject of cryptocurrencies. Following a tweet originally referred to CoinDesk’s senior reporter – Leigh Cuen by the Orator of the Harry Potter fiction on Saturday, for an explanation to bitcoin’s operability.

J.K. Rowling subsequently received Musk’s reply among several others from Bitcoin’s advocates and cynics alike; such as the co-founder of Ethereum and Bitcoin Magazine– Vitalik Buterin, among many others. Notably, the author’s tweet drew some attention to the tune of 2,800 replies, as at the time of writing.

Furthermore, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., emphasized that the bulky issuance of currencies by the central banks of various economies is making the digital currency – Bitcoin, more solid in juxtaposition to fiat. Musk also went on ahead to convey his views towards digital money as being positive, even though he currently owns a quarter of a Bitcoin as stated in his tweet that reads;

“I still only own 0.25 Bitcoins btw.”

Yet, Cuen replied Rowling with a reassuring statement while providing her with guides to sample use-cases of Bitcoin. Cuen stressed this in a tweet with the message;

“Hi! My D.M.s are open if you want to chat w/out onlookers. The very short version is: Bitcoin is money fueled by a community of contributors. There is no king or central bank in charge. There are countless stories we can use to explore the ethics of a world w/global currency.”

Albeit, Rowling expressed her discontent with regards to the explanations she received, as her curiosity rapidly became debased by the myriad of responses she received. She disclosed her uneasiness towards the topic in question – with a bit of sarcasm while tweeting the following;

Another noteworthy reply is that of Vitalik Buterin, who added that;

“It is a digital currency. There’s ~ 18m units of it. It is not backed by anything, it’s just valuable because it is, like collectibles. There’s a network of computers (which anyone can join) that maintains a decentralized global excel spreadsheet of how many coins each person has.”

Although, Rowling might have admitted being woozy before publishing these tweets, however, her views on the digital currencies and Bitcoin are unlikely to change when she becomes sober or in the foreseeable future.

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You probably will think John McAfee has lost his mind with his predictions. Firstly, a $1 million BTC price, now $2 million before the end of 2020. However, taking a critical look at things fundamentally, some few factors may drive his prediction to come about.

John McAfee, who’s so sure of his prediction has in the past said he would feed on his genitals on national TV if it didn’t come to pass. In his recent forecast, Mr. McAfee, who’s undoubtedly convinced of his position said;

“If Bitcoin is less than $2 million by the end of 2020, then mathematics itself is a flawed disappointment.”

Nevertheless, here are a few factors that could see John McAfee’s outrageous prediction come true.

#1. 2020 Bitcoin Halving

The 2020 bitcoin halving is probably the most anticipated event for bitcoin holders investors. The event, slated for May 2020 would see bitcoin’s reward slashed into two – from its present 1,800 daily rewards to 900. When this happens, it’s expected that the value of bitcoin rises drastically as the asset becomes more scarce.

#2. Global Recession

Countries such as Venezuela is on top of the list of those facing economic turmoil. This situation leaves its citizens looking for a better option – a way to preserve their wealth from drastically declining in value.

It has led to a lot of people seeking refuge in bitcoin. However, Venezuela isn’t alone in this, and if more countries join in, the value of bitcoin could rise exponentially.

#3. Institutional Investors

Another factor that could propagate bitcoin’s adoption would be when Wall Street fully takes an interest in bitcoin. At the moment, things are starting to light up from this angle. Bakkt’s launching, though having a sluggish start, without a doubt has begun to receive some attention from institutional investors.

As reported by ZyCrypto, there was a glimpse of interest from institutional traders when trading volume on the Bakkt exchange reached 224 BTCs on Wednesday, 9th October 2019. However, a full adoption by these investors is expected to give bitcoin’s value a considerable boost.

#4. Bitcoin’s Scarce Nature

Bitcoin is scarce by design. There are only 21 million of it that will ever be. Unlike fiat, where millions are printed periodically, the world is literally fighting to have a piece of the bitcoin pie. It means having it at any price. This demand would, therefore, drive bitcoin price high, several percentages.

While all the above mentioned are true factors that may drive bitcoin adoption, and its price high, a $2 million price prediction for Bitcoin may seem like an over-exaggeration. However, only time would tell as the world watches events roll by.

Let us know what you think in the comment box below.

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A lot of crypto analysts seem to have taken a bullish stance on Bitcoin despite the asset’s recent decline in its price. One of such is Peter Brandt, a veteran trader who said on September 1, 2019, that Bitcoin has entered its fourth parabolic phase. As such, the cryptocurrency could set another record, rallying to a new all-time high soon.

Peter Brandt’s Past Predictions

Peter Brandt is popularly known for his forecasts and has gained the interest of many traders as some of his predictions have come true in the past. For starters, he correctly predicted an 80% dump in Bitcoin’s price in January 2018, and it turned out to be the case by the year’s end. The iconic trader also forecasted a bull run in April, and by June, Bitcoin spiked to its year-to-date high of $13,796.

Of recent, Brandt also opined that Bitcoin has entered its fourth parabolic phase, which could do a lot of good for the crypto market. A phase, of this nature, could potentially take Bitcoin’s price beyond its present all-time high of about $20k. How high? One may wonder, it could be towards the $100,000 he says.

Raoul Pal Says It’s Now or Never

Brandt’s tweet was also linked to that of Raoul Pal, CEO of Global Macro Investor and Real Vision Group. According to Pal, a wedge pattern has just been exhibited in the Bitcoin short term chart. Moreover, it is not just any wedge, but one that has shown a high potential for success in the past.

Pal further remarks that this may be the last time for those who do not have Bitcoin to dive into the market. In his opinion, there could be a rocket in Bitcoin’s price soon; a prediction that is similar to that of Brandt’s.

Crypto Twitter Objects

On the other hand, some members of Crypto Twitter who made comments were in disagreement with Brandt’s and Pal’s opinion. These individuals remarked that the wedge pattern which Brandt and Pal spoke of is a pennant. A pennant, in their opinion, is a signal of a major dump in price in a crypto asset.

Despite the contrary views, there is still a high chance for the fulfillment of Brandt’s prediction. For beginners, Bitcoin’s halving in May 2020, which will reduce the amount of Bitcoin’s supplied to the market, could help to surge its price significantly. PlanB, for instance, had predicted in March that Bitcoin could rise to $55,000 after its halving in May 2020.

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The recent price upheaval seen in cryptocurrencies has been the hot topic in the cryptocurrency community. Crypto traders and investors have had a rough couple of days as this volatile market keeps shifting by the day.

At press time though, most cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin seem to have struck a purple patch as they are recording small gains over the last 24 hours.

However, at the University of Cambridge, a certain group of researchers have been busy developing an index that computes the amount of electricity used by the bitcoin network.

This online tool indicates that the bitcoin network consumes more electricity than Switzerland. This revelation has left many in shock. 

It is not the first time we’ve heard bitcoin and Switzerland in the same sentence. Not so long ago, a lot of conversations have sprung up concerning the correlation between the price of bitcoin and Swiss franc, Switzerland’s fiat currency. Now with the ongoing economic uncertainties, bitcoin has been recognized as a safe haven by investors alongside Swiss franc.

Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption Exceeds That of An Entire Nation

This time around, the conversation is centered on bitcoin’s electricity consumption. This research was prompted by concerns over the impact of bitcoin mining on the environment.

Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge developed an index known as Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) to calculate the amount of electricity that powers bitcoin in real-time then calculating annual power usage.

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A Bitfinex investor staked a 20,000 bitcoins short order and gambled that BTC prices would slide in the near term. Within a fortnight, the BTC price dropped to $10, 765 from a whopping $11,900. After a span of a few hours, the valuation of the crypto market fell by over $20 billion.

Market experts have been wondering whether a quick upward recovery is even possible. Some analysts, like the incredible – Josh Rager were quite skeptical if the price of BTC went below $11, 500. Below this point could prompt even a further drop from $10, 000.

Whale movements seem to be key influencers in the price movements of crypto markets. Where the effect on the market is not rapid sales of crypto assets (Let’s say BTC); the trivial effect is maybe a dip in the prices and market capitalization.

Minor corrections of Bitcoin markets has resulted in the declining power of top crypto assets against the pair of BTC/USD. Litecoin had recorded a 5% rise against the U.S dollar during the weekend but has dropped by 5%. Other crypto assets that have slid by an average of more than 5% include, Ethereum, EOS, Bitcoin cash, and Binance Coin.

Experts predict the 8.5% BTC drop was a result of technical factors. The large short contract created panic among many retail investors. As a result, they end up selling their assets and pulling down the market. It was such an abrupt drop, however, experts believe a bullish fundamental catalyst still exists around the market. This bullish expectation, they predict could improve sentiments within crypto markets. 

Analysts identified  a generally positive trend for BTC from factors such as; 

• Opening of trading venues such as Bakkt and Fidelity in the second quarter of 2019
• The gradual increase in retail investment
• Rising institutional interest

Short term traders are however skeptical and remain wary of the declining trend of bitcoin prices. An extended correction of market insights forecast that crypto assets tend to follow the bitcoin movement. Therefore, illustrating intensified markets moving both to the upside and the downside.

However, some traders are very optimistic and have spotted positive medium-term indicators in the monthly BTC trend. Despite the fact, investors did not expect an abrupt pullback in the magnitude of 8.5%. Investors have faith that pullbacks are quite necessary for the stabilizing of crypto market foundations.

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As Bitcoin breaches $10,000 and crosses straight to $11,000, analysts anticipated a major FOMO that would create panic and thus attract more buyers. However, there seems to be no reaction from the public on Bitcoin’s triumph on the long-awaited $10,000. This has left the cryptocurrency community wondering what is going on. Well, The Crypto King has an answer.

In a tweet earlier today, the blockchain entrepreneur said Bitcoin will be moving straight to $100k because if at the current price no FOMO has started then the asset has a long way to go. Also, the fact that no extreme media announcements and headlines on the price are an indication that it has not been noticed yet and could be going much higher

According to The Crypto King, this is good for Bitcoin as it leaves more room for additional development, adoption, regulations and institutional money to flow into the market while it grows to $100k. Interestingly, he is not the only one having this conviction on the future of Bitcoin in 2019.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt is also convinced that Bitcoin is going to $100,000. Also in a tweet, Brandt said Bitcoin is experiencing its fourth phase since 2010, saying only Bitcoin has gone parabolic on a log chart in this manner in his trading career. As far as he is concerned, Bitcoin is the best market ever.

Keiser Report host Max Keiser has also been confident that Bitcoin would go to $100,000. He predicted this price in 2011 and has not gone back on his word since then despite the rough ride Bitcoin has been through. It seems Keiser finally has witnesses in the house who see things as he does.

If Bitcoin is actually going to $100k then only 10% of the journey has been covered and there is a long way to go for those who haven’t gotten in the train to do so. It is currently on a slight pullback but a trader says it is normal and expected so there is no cause for alarm.

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Bitcoin has exhibited a pattern in the past which can be said to be booms and busts in its price. There have also been similarities between the percentage of increment and decrement between certain years.

However, Bitcoin may not decline by 85 percent as is evident in the past, reports Bloomberg on June 13, 2019.

Similarities in Bitcoin’s Performance in the Past

Per the report, Bitcoin surged from $0 in 2009 to almost $150 in 2013 but later dumped 60 percent in price only to rebound to $1,150. In 2015, it declined by 85 percent to $175 which is considerably higher than its price in 2013. Similarly, it surged to $20,000 in late 2017 only to dump by over 85 percent in December 2018.

Therefore, if one considers the pattern, they can expect a sharp rise in the virtual asset’s price between $60,000 to $400,000 before it also dumps by 85 percent. While that may sound pessimistic, there are reasons to believe that the spike and sudden crash in price will not be the case this time around. So far, Bitcoin is currently trading at $8,600 and its year-to-date high is $9100.

Reasons Bust Percentage May be Lower

On the other hand, the previous performance might not be evident since Bitcoin’s market cap is not $152 billion which is larger than its $1 billion and $3 billion market cap in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Moreover, more people have ventured into space as well as companies. An instance is the case of JP Morgan who launched its own cryptocurrency.

Nonetheless, crashes can still be expected since volatility is prevalent even in crypto assets that have no value. However, they may not be as significant as in the past where the dump amounted to 80 percent. What can be expected, is something around 20 percent or less.

Bitcoin’s Options Market

While throwing more light on what may have led to its conclusion, Bloomberg made reference to the Bitcoin options market. According to the media, when cryptocurrencies prices in late 2017 were similar to what’s happening today, the $10,000 one-month Bitcoin calls had an active trading and implied volatility of 300 percent.

The latter meant paying $2,200 just for the right to buy Bitcoin at $10,000 when its price is $8,000. Another factor that was a consideration is the correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 Index.

Generally, crypto assets correlate with the index due to their performance in good economic times with support for innovation and inexpensive capital.

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Even though Bitcoin is yet to beat the Binance Coin (BNB) as 2019’s most successful crypto asset, it is still doing remarkably well and predicted to do even better before the year runs out.

At this time, Bitcoin has dropped below $8,000 and while some think it’s a bad sign, there are many bulls who have predicted before now, a significant pullback as a sort of prerequisite to another imminent surge. The past few weeks have also been unstable for the coin as the prices have been swinging back and forth in a bid to properly adjust to the current influx of retailers and institutions for the market.

Bitcoin Will Be Replaced

Not everyone is exactly bullish and there have been a few bearish forecasts on the market. However, there probably haven’t been any projections as gloomy as Jason Calacanis’. Calacanis, who is a very popular venture capitalist, has predicted that Bitcoin could drop all the way down to $0.

The investor who is known as one of the initial financiers of popular ride-hailing and ride sharing app, Uber, has said he thinks that the chance that Bitcoin will likely be relegated by a new technology is quite high.

According to a recent tweet posted by Calacanis,

“My position remains the same. #Bitcoin will likely be replaced by a new technology & it’s manipulated. It’s possible it’s built to last, but not probable, so keep your position to an amount you’re willing to lose. For most, that’s 1-5% of net worth. [Bitcoin] will likely go to 0-$500.

Could Newer Cryptos Threaten Bitcoin?

Already, there are thousands of different cryptocurrencies available in the market and only a few can even begin to match up to bitcoin in popularity and market capitalization. However, there are a few giant firms who are not only looking to use crypto in their businesses but are also working on creating their own assets. Facebook and J.P. Morgan, for example, are two of the foremost and the latter has already issued the JPM Coin.

This much interest in cryptocurrency has had a significant effect on Bitcoin but it’s also being said that big firms like Facebook have the capability to create a cryptocurrency and use its billions of subscribers all over the world to displace Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is currently still atop the crypto list but could Facebook’s recently announced Globalcoin do any real damage to the number one coin?

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When it comes to trading cryptos, many people turn to exchanges for buying and selling digital assets. However, a new form of the crypto market seems to be emerging from the entertaining scenes of the arts industry. In fact, this new trading method, introduced by one Eleesa Dadiani, seems to be attracting the biggest fish in the tank – the billionaires.

It’s A Syndicate

Dadiani is an art dealer and has an office down in Mayfair where she runs the Dadiani Fine Art. A few years ago, Dadiani dabbled into cryptocurrencies and eventually started trying to meet her investors’ demand for trading fine art using Bitcoin. That’s how the Dadiani Syndicate was born.

Eleesa Dadiani now runs Dadiani Fine Art and the Dadiani Syndicate under one roof. Sometime last year, she partnered with a blockchain company, the Maecenas Fine Art, to facilitate crypto cashouts. Soon, the syndicate started receiving requests from wealthy people to facilitate the accumulation of digital assets, primarily Bitcoin.

They’re Buying  25% Of The Bitcoin Market

According to Eleesa, the Dadiani Syndicate has received a request from a billionaire who wants to buy as much as 25% of the total Bitcoin supply. That’s about 4.5 million Bitcoins worth over $38 billion. It’s notable that about the same amount of Bitcoins is currently assumed to have been lost. That makes the 4.5 million Bitcoins quite a huge chunk of the total circulating supply.

Avoid Exchanges

Obviously, such a large purchase would most likely upset the market if done through other channels like exchanges. That’s why Dadiani’s company and its clients avoid exchanges and opt for one-on-one (P2P) trading instead. The company’s job is to link the buyer to the seller and get a commission from the trade. The Dadiani Syndicate is currently on its 4^th trade running into millions of dollars, with numerous transactions happening every day.

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