An important bigger-picture perspective on gold

An important bigger-picture perspective on gold

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(Kitco News) – An examination of the monthly continuation chart for nearby Comex gold futures is a classic example of why it’s important to look at the longer-term charts, in order to gain a critical over-the-horizon perspective on where a market has been and where it may be heading.

The monthly gold chart shows prices are still not far below the record high of $2,078.80, basis nearby futures, scored in March of this year. Prices have pulled back from the record high, but not a lot, by longer-term historical standards. Technical analysts call this price action a “downside correction” in an overall longer-term price uptrend that remains in place. Gold market bulls still have the firm longer-term technical advantage.

By Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

 

Tim Moseley

Market participant wait for two key reports this week GDP and PCE

Market participant wait for two key reports this week; GDP and PCE

Analysts and investors are waiting for two critical government reports due out on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. On Wednesday the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release its latest numbers on real GDP which will be followed on Thursday by the PCE for May 2022.

Concerns over a potential recession which will either be confirmed or negated by Wednesday’s GDP report. These concerns took both the dollar and gold lower today. As of 5:35 PM EDT gold futures basis, the most active August 2022 contract is trading $6.30 (-0.34%) lower and currently fixed at $1824 per ounce. The dollar lost 0.244 points today taking the dollar index to 103.715.

According to a report by Dr. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at J.P. Morgan asset management, “1Q22 Real GDP showed the economy contracted at a 1.5% annual rate in 1Q22, a deceleration from the boomy 4Q21. Weakness was primarily led by volatile trade and inventory data. Trade subtracted 3.2% from overall GDP growth as exports fell sharply and imports soared.”

The report also said that first-quarter 2022 earnings have held up better than expected. However, inflation continues to far exceed the FOMC’s 2% target with the May CPI report indicating hotter than expected inflation despite hopes by the Federal Reserve that it would moderate.

He concluded the following; first, the Federal Reserve could push the economy into a recession if it over-tightens in response to supply-driven inflation. Secondly, heightened geopolitical tensions with Russia could result in continued energy shortages, low consumer confidence, and dampening growth. Lastly, he concluded that markets may remain depressed and volatile until investors receive clarity on inflation and the Fed.

The other key report which will be released on Thursday is the PCE price index for May. The PCE for April revealed a slight uptick in core inflation increasing by 0.2% month over month. However. This was a decrease from the increase in March which came in at a 0.9% increase in MoM.

Although we will have to wait until Thursday for the official PCE price index from the BEA, last week they reported that “The U.S. current-account deficit widened by $66.6 billion, or 29.6 percent, to $291.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The revised fourth-quarter deficit was $224.8 billion. The first-quarter deficit was 4.8 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter.”

August gold opened at $1839.60 today and traded to a high of $1842.80. Today’s high was $1.10 below the 200-day moving average which is currently fixed at $1843.90. This puts the first level of resistance in gold at the 200-day moving average. Above that, there is resistance at $1850.40, the highest value gold achieved in trading last week. Our technical studies indicate that major resistance is currently at $1882 which corresponds to the highest value of gold achieved this month on June 13.

Strong support for gold does not occur until $1805 with major support at $1786.20. Both levels of support are based upon recent price lows.
 

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

 

Tim Moseley

Czech Presidency For The Council of the European Union

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What’s Happening to Bitcoin?

What's Happening to Bitcoin?

Whats happening to bitcoin  

If you're wondering, "What's happening to bitcoin?" You're not alone. Bitcoin is a very hot topic right now, and everyone wants to know why. The current price decline is a result of global economic trends and the emergence of new cryptocurrencies, such as TerraUSD and El Salvador's legal tender. But there are several other factors contributing to the downfall of Bitcoin. Read on to learn more about these factors and what they mean for the price of bitcoin.

Price of bitcoin

Traders, investors, and financial professionals alike are concerned about the volatility of the Bitcoin price. Its limited supply and volatility have influenced its price dramatically, causing it to spike and drop dramatically in the same day. Inflation, a situation when the money supply increases rapidly, causing prices to rise and reducing the value of a currency, also has an effect on Bitcoin. But because of its limited supply, Bitcoin is safe from hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is a financial crisis that has destroyed the value of many fiat currencies.

In April 2011, Bitcoin broke the $1 mark and rose by nearly three-fold in just three months. In June 2011, bitcoin reached an all-time high of $32, but soon crashed and finished the year at a low of about $2. Although it has recovered in 2019, it hasn't yet reached its peak from 2017, and hasn't reached it yet, the price of Bitcoin is likely to rise dramatically in 2020 and 2021. Coindesk reports Bitcoin prices in US dollars, but this information is not indexed to inflation.

Impact of global economic trends

Global economic trends are a major influencer of the price of bitcoin, and many investors are speculating on the future of the cryptocurrency. Global GEPU is increasing, and Europe is grappling with immigration issues from war-torn countries. This causes uncertainty about the future of the European economy, and has a negative effect on trade. During periods of rising global GEPU, Bitcoin prices tend to be stable.

On the other hand, there are many countries that have mismanaged their domestic currencies. The authoritarian regime in Venezuela, for example, has a history of sky-high inflation that has resulted in an edgy economy and a plummeting standard of living for its citizens. The current inflationary environment is a testing ground for bitcoin, and a higher dollar value would strengthen the currency's appeal.

Impact of TerraUSD

The $60 billion TerraUSD project has destroyed the crypto market. Many investors thought it would revolutionize payment systems by creating a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. As it turns out, the project was a fraud, as investors panicked and wiped out their funds in days. The resulting bank run wiped out many investors, pulling down the entire crypto market. The Wall Street Journal reported on the situation of some investors.

But in the following weeks, the price of Luna soared, reaching $116 in April. Just three weeks earlier, it was trading for under a dollar, making many investors billionaires. The crypto currency's popularity spawned a retail trading community, including Bitcoin millionaire Mike Novogratz. Mr. Kwon, who founded TerraUSD, announced his support by getting a Luna-themed tattoo. Moreover, the start-up behind the new cryptocurrency Luna launched a cryptocurrency exchange and a lending service called TerraUSD 2.0.

Impact of El Salvador's legal tender

While the world's central banks are often hesitant to support Bitcoin, the government has made it a legal tender in El Salvador. The decision likely stems from the country's adoption of the US dollar in 2001, and some citizens perceived the new currency as a financial hardship. However, the country's new legal tender may prove to be a boon for Bitcoin. Ultimately, El Salvador's decision will likely spur further adoption of the currency in the country.

Some analysts fear that El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin could encourage money laundering. While many experts disagree, the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador could reduce the likelihood of sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury. In addition, some analysts believe that Bitcoin adoption could help alleviate the financial burdens faced by a country with a huge unbanked population. Ultimately, it is up to the government to determine how to deal with the situation and make the best possible decision for its citizens.

Impact of regulation

Although the UK and EU are at odds on the regulatory issues surrounding cryptocurrency, there are signs of a shift in Australia's attitude toward the currency. Both countries have embraced cryptocurrency exchanges and have taken a more friendly stance than their regional counterparts. The Australian Taxation Office, or ATO, treats cryptocurrencies like goods and collects tax on them using the Goods and Services Tax, or GST. Furthermore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore recently clarified that digital assets such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are securities.

In a recent speech, the CEO of Microstrategy, Michael Saylor, explained that regulatory clarity will help bitcoin continue to grow as the number of participants increases. Increasing government regulation will also facilitate institutional participation and accelerate growth in the cryptocurrency space. This, in turn, will allow more traditional banks and public companies to get involved, thereby further expanding the market. So, what does this mean for the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

Tim Moseley

Mercury Wallet’s Roadmap To Bitcoin Scalability And Privacy

Mercury Wallet’s Roadmap To Bitcoin Scalability And Privacy

by Shawn Amick 

 

Mercury Wallet, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin, plans to integrate with the Lightning Network and blind its server.

Mercury Wallet, a Layer 2 application built for Bitcoin, is currently developing infrastructure to integrate with the Lightning Network.

Applications like Mercury are a way of scaling the use of Bitcoin by temporarily performing transactions off chain before returning to the main chain, making it easier and more cost-effective to make payments to other users. But what is Mercury Wallet, how does it differ from the Lightning Network and what could its integration ultimately accomplish for Bitcoin growth?

Statechains And Statecoins

In order to understand the Mercury Wallet, we must first understand the technology Mercury uses to build its application: statechains.

A statechain works in a very similar way to a blockchain or a sidechain. In short, a statechain provides cryptographic proof of ownership for any given statecoin. A statecoin can be thought of as representing digital currency without actually being the digital currency, which, in this case, would be bitcoin.

Similarly, the easiest comparison to understand a statecoin is to think of it in the way that paper money is tied to a gold standard. The paper currency is not the actual gold, it just represents some of gold’s value. Similarly, a statecoin is not bitcoin, it is just meant to represent some of bitcoin’s value. This allows users to transact the value of bitcoin without interacting with the Bitcoin blockchain.

Now that we have a basic premise for statechains and statecoins, let’s return to Mercury.

What Is Mercury Wallet?

Mercury Wallet is itself an implementation of a statechain. The wallet is how unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), or funds are organized into a statechain once they are deposited.

When a user opts in to use Mercury Wallet, they deposit UTXOs into the wallet through the graphical user interface (GUI) in a fairly straightforward process. Depositing UTXOs into Mercury Wallet is sort of like playing a game of poker with your friends. Each person brings a fixed amount of cash denominated in chips. The chips cannot be divided into smaller denominations of cash and have a fixed value.

Likewise, UTXOs deposited into Mercury Wallet cannot be divided into smaller denominations. Therefore, if the given UTXO represents 1 BTC, it must be spent in full and cannot be divided into smaller payments. This is one of the downsides to Mercury Wallet.

Accordingly, once funds are deposited, a chain of transactions secured by cryptography signifying ownership begins. If a user would choose to spend their UTXOs, it would create a path of ownership leading from the spender to the receiver each time a transaction was made. However, in order to transact with Mercury Wallet a user must be transacting with another Mercury Wallet.

Moreover, each deposited UTXO in essence creates its own statechain that traces the transference of ownership with each transaction on the Mercury Wallet platform. This is why Mercury Wallet users must interact with one another, to continue the chain of custody.

In addition, should users want the path of ownership for their deposits broadcasted to the Bitcoin blockchain to actually transfer the funds, Mercury’s interface is connected to a Bitcoin node making the process quick and easy.

So, what does Lightning offer Mercury Wallet that it does not already have?

Privacy, Security And Optionality

If the Lightning Network is a Layer 2 scaling solution, and Mercury Wallet is a Layer 2 scaling solution, doesn’t that make them competitors? This is an incorrect lens through which to view the two projects. In fact, it would be more accurate to view them as adjacent, rather than in opposition to one another.

Accordingly, the Lightning Network is an implementation of a communication protocol through the use of channels, and Mercury Wallet is an implementation of statechains that leverage a product with a company behind it.

However, Mercury integrating its product to the Lightning Network allows Mercury users to access its communication protocol. This integration enables Lightning-to-Mercury transfers or vice versa, which strengthens Mercury’s use cases.

For instance, currently, the business model of Mercury is to collect a fee for facilitating Layer 2 transactions by charging an address once funds are broadcasted back to the Bitcoin blockchain, which users are required to provide when they initially deposit funds. This is a privacy concern, since the address has to be collected upfront and stored, even though it does not have to be the same address the deposited UTXOs are coming from.

Nevertheless, with a Lightning integration, Mercury could charge the fee upfront and only need to collect a Lightning invoice, storing none of the user data. This would not only be a boon for privacy, but also security.

In its current state, Mercury Wallet is subject to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, which is where a malicious user spams fake transactions to flood the network, thereby making it difficult or impossible to use the platform. Being able to charge Lightning invoices up front would drastically reduce the likelihood of this attack vector by placing a price on spam and allowing more optionality.

Thus, Lightning invoicing would also allow Mercury to change its pricing model entirely. Similar to how Opendime allows users to transact with UTXOs placed onto a flashdrive-like device for ease of use; Mercury users would be able to purchase a virtual form of Opendime-like real estate en masse, which would allow bulk discounts for multiple deposits.

Still, Mercury has one other upgrade on the horizon.

A Blind Server

Currently, Mercury has plans to blind its server during the fourth quarter of this year, according to CEO Nicholas Gregory, per an email correspondence Bitcoin Magazine had with the Mercury team. What does this mean?

“The blinded version of Mercury Wallet will apply cryptography in an approach that makes it impossible to identify coins that have been transferred or swapped,” explained Tom Trevethan, CTO of Mercury Wallet.

The company announced its plans to go blind in June with an explanation of what it means to be blinded in the world of cryptography here. In short, the act of blinding Mercury’s server guarantees that it cannot know any identifiable information about a coin which prevents censorship of coins. 

markethive

Tim Moseley

News Bites Gold’s price floor has gone up What this means for Newmont the world’s largest gold miner Tom Palmer

Gold’s price floor has gone up – What this means for Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner – Tom Palmer

Tom Palmer, CEO of Newmont, said that gold’s price floor has increased considerably over the past decade, making mining more lucrative as a result.

“We think, fundamentally, that the floor for gold has changed,” he said. “You typically have seen it sitting, probably for the last decade, at around $1,200 as a floor. I think the events of the last couple of years have changed that: the level of fiscal and monetary stimulus, the factors that are happening around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gold is more comfortably, I think, sitting with a floor of maybe $1,500 or $1,600.”

Palmer spoke with David Lin, Anchor and Producer at Kitco News, at the PDAC 2022 Convention in Toronto.

Newmont’s Costs and Revenues

Newmont’s cost guidance this year is $1,050 per ounce of gold. This assumes an $1,800 price per ounce of gold.

“Built into that [cost guidance] number are the higher taxes and royalties that you pay at that higher price,” Palmer explained. “If gold’s price were to come down, then you’re paying less taxes and royalties, so they’re coupled to each other.”

U.S. inflation was 8.6 percent in May, and Newmont is taking this into consideration, said Palmer.

“We’re starting to see some additional cost pressures coming into our business,” he said. “And we talked about it being about 5 percent over and above that number we guided to. We continue to watch that carefully… If we look further into the future, in probably 2024 we would see inflation coming down to long-run levels of about 2 to 3 percent.”

In terms of higher oil prices, Palmer explained that Newmont’s base assumption is $60 per barrel, and that every $10 increase per barrel reduces his company’s cash flow by $15 million.

However, he added that, “every $100 increase in gold price above the assumption that we make, means we generate $400 million of free cash flow every year… I talked earlier about our $1,800 assumption. [Gold] has spent a lot of this year at $1,900 to $1,950.”
 

Drivers of Gold Price

Palmer identified key supply and demand factors behind gold’s price.

“For gold, there are less discoveries taking place, so there’s less gold that’s going to be produced going forward,” he said. “And then there’s demand. One of the big demands for gold is jewelry in China and India. A growing middle class in both of those countries leads to greater demand for gold… I think you’ve also seen more of a move to gold as a safe haven, as a result of the volatility over the last couple of years.”

To find out Newmont’s plans for explorations and discoveries, and its ESG strategy, watch the above video.
 

By Kitco News

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

CRYPTO BEAR MARKET – Why Experts Say It’s A Good Thing

CRYPTO BEAR MARKET – Why Experts Say It’s A Good Thing 

Billions of dollars of value have been wiped off the cryptocurrency market in the last few weeks because of a sell-off in stocks, another rate hike and balance sheet shrinkage by the Fed, and the downfall of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD. Cryptocurrency and Blockchain industry leaders believe that the recent crash in the crypto market would purge “bad actors.” The executives said the market purge was necessary and characterized it as “healthy.”

There are currently over 19,000 cryptocurrencies and at least 1000 blockchain platforms with four types of Blockchain Networks. Blockchain is the technology underlying these digital currencies and platforms. Still, the question is who will survive this massive bear market that has been happening for at least six months, and the experts are shying away from predicting its short-term future. 


Image source: CNBC

Crypto Industry Welcomes The Bear Market

Many industry executives see the current market situation as unsustainable. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes that the future may see “only a handful” of cryptocurrencies remaining, stating that there are around 180 national currencies worldwide. So many cryptocurrencies aren't really necessary.

Bertrand Perez, CEO of the Web3 Foundation, told CNBC,

“We’re in a bear market. And I think that’s good. It’s good because it’s going to clear the people who were there for the bad reasons.” 

He went on to say,

“It’s good also because all those projects are gone. So the legit ones will be able to focus only on developing on building and forget about the valuation of the token because everyone is down. During the bull markets, when everything is green, no one thinks about building; everyone thinks about making a fortune, which is the wrong mindset.”

Other executives reiterated the same view that the massive price rally caused people to focus on speculation rather than building products. Michael Gronager, co-founder and CEO of the crypto data analysis firm, Chainalysis, says these down periods help distinguish between the signal and the noise.

Mr. Gronager explained, 

“It’s during these bear markets where good new tech gets developed. We’ve seen people get excited about new technology, and suddenly everyone wants to access it, but it’s never as good as people hope for. And then there’s a certain level of disappointment, but it’s when a bear market comes along, and companies are under-funded that real innovation emerges.”

So despite the anguish of speculative investors when the price of cryptocurrency collapses across the board, some argue it is a necessary development to sort the genuinely innovative projects from the pump-and-dump schemes. 

Why Do So Many Cryptos Fail?

Although the flagship cryptos, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have fallen substantially from their historical prices, other altcoins have fared even worse, with many that have entirely failed, including Luna, Dogecoin, Squid Game, PayCoin, and many more for various reasons. So many crypto coins have been released into the market and have died and disappeared over time. Why do they keep failing? 

Numerous ventures are sure to face challenges in a market that is still emerging. Therefore, after releasing their coins and tokens, the creators often realize that their concepts are obsolete. Developers typically do not invest sufficient time or research when planning their foundational structure for their coins and tokens, only to find out after release that their concept is already on the market. 

Many cryptocurrencies are copied versions of previously successful currencies, and many of them aspired to match Bitcoin's success. However, Bitcoin is already on the market and is still in demand, especially now with its emerging Lightning Network

A Few Key Elements Why Cryptos Fail

Lack of a Defined Purpose: 
Most cryptocurrencies do not have a clear purpose or target market. They are like a machine gun firing in all directions, hoping to find a target and hit it. A well-defined purpose will help your cryptocurrency attract the right people and repel the wrong ones.

Lack of a use case:
A cryptocurrency with no actual use case will eventually become obsolete. A cryptocurrency with a clear use case will help people understand why they should own it. Many cryptocurrencies today don’t seem to solve a real problem. They are just trying to find a niche to apply blockchain protocol and take advantage of emerging technology.

Weak Ecosystem: 
Some cryptocurrency projects are focused on creating a coin and trading it without building a community that aligns with its vision and mission. The importance of a robust ecosystem cannot be overstated. Without one, a project will have a hard time gaining traction, let alone succeeding. A tenuous ecosystem could cause other problems, such as low liquidity and volatility.

Inactive Development: 
In the crypto ecosystem, things change at a rapid pace. New technologies emerge, new competitors appear on the scene, and user needs and preferences change. If a crypto project is not flexible enough to keep up with these changes, it will not be able to survive in the long term.

Security Issues: 
Breaches to cryptocurrency projects can also lead to their failures. From hacking to creating fake nodes, bringing down a coin is easy when its security isn't robust.

Rug Pull: 
A rug pull is a malicious maneuver in the cryptocurrency industry where crypto developers abandon a project and run away with investors’ funds. Rug pulls got away with more than $2.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency from victims in 2021.

Tokenomics: 
The amount of tokens supplied has a significant impact on the price. If there is a lot of supply, that can depress the price, even more so when demand is low. It's all about the law of supply and demand. 


Image source: Cryptoslate

Shiba Inu Has 15 Zeros!

Shiba Inu is one example with a coin supply of 1 quadrillion. Shiba Inu trades for a small fraction of a penny because its supply is so large. There was some speculation it may reach $1; however, there’s currently a supply of 549 trillion SHIB tokens in circulation, giving it a market cap of around $11 billion. 

If those tokens were worth $1 each, SHIB's market cap would be $549 trillion, roughly 200 times bigger than Apple, the world's most valuable company, and more than six times the world's annual GDP. 

In other words, Shiba Inu reaching $1 would likely require a massive reordering of the world economy, and that's not going to happen. But there is a way to decrease the total coin supply by burning the coin; however, it takes considerable time. 

Shibburn, a website dedicated to the project burn of Shiba Inu, said that 410 trillion Shiba Inu coins have already been burned. They were taken out of circulation by Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum after the anonymous Shiba Inu founder gave him half of the one quadrillion Shiba Inu coin supply. Buterin said he was uncomfortable controlling so much of the supply.

According to Shibburn, around 63 million Shiba Inu coins have been burned in the last 24 hours, which seems like a lot. However, if that rate continues, it would take just over two weeks to burn 1 billion coins and 40 years to burn 1 trillion. If there were an organized movement among SHIB holders, the burn could accelerate and pick up steam if the value of SHIB continues to drop. 

However, there's a clear disincentive to burning the coins. If the value begins to increase, it's in the interest of holders to keep their coins rather than burn them. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency makes it unlikely that an organized movement will be powerful enough to reduce the number of coins substantially. 

And what about the use case? John Wu, president of Ava Labs said, Shiba Inu "wasn't built with a sophisticated use case like borrowing, lending, trading, or gaming. It’s really just the Shib Army rallying behind the coin.”

Why Bitcoin And Other Purposeful Cryptos Will Survive

More and more institutions are paying greater attention to the role of Bitcoin and Ethereum as hedging tools. There is increasing interest in several countries to adopt Bitcoin as their official currency. El Salvador was the first to adopt it in September of last year as their legal tender, the most recent being the Central African Republic. 

More individuals, companies, and governments are beginning to accept and adopt Bitcoin, and more investors are noticing its value, so I think it’s safe to say that our digital store of value or digital gold will remain and gain prominence well into the future.

In addition, Bitcoin has faced various attacks and smear campaigns in the past decade in the past decade. Despite everything, Bitcoin has withstood the test of time with great tenacity, providing ample evidence of its ability to overcome challenges and problems. 

As mentioned earlier, experts in the industry believe the timing is perfect for getting rid of the weeds. At the same time, emerging projects rise with all the fundamentals and utility to cater to users' needs. So, it’s an excellent time to take stock of more promising cryptocurrency ventures for the remainder of this year. As the crypto world changes rapidly, some of these projects' overall strengths or weaknesses will likely change, while others will be on point.

Although Bitcoin and Ethereum have the first-mover’s advantage, a few Blockchain projects such as Solana, Elrond, and Cardano have the underlying principles and infrastructure to survive the most challenging crypto winters. They all have a strong community and dedicated team of developers with a defined end goal and solutions to some of the most challenging hurdles facing the blockchain and crypto industry.


Image by Markethive

An Emerging Sector For the Blockchain Crypto Industry

Another sector overcome by centralization and severely lacking in blockchain technology is the social media and marketing niche, until now. Markethive is a blockchain-driven social media, inbound marketing, and broadcasting network rapidly building a dynamic ecosystem for the entrepreneur. 

Markethive is a crypto project with extensive and varied use cases that significantly drive demand for its token. (HVC) It has developed the much-needed solutions for marketers, influencers, business owners, and the like. We have all been victims of the current state of the media and tech companies where monopolies have been created. 

A decentralized and open media ecosystem, by definition, requires it necessary to have different options to broadcast and consume information free from censorship. Where content remains the creator's property, and the culture embraces self-sovereignty. 

Markethive is an entirely different animal and one of the most promising and potentially disruptive projects in the entire social media and marketing industry. It is a project with a large number of real-world applications, and it has the potential to change the media landscape.


Image by Markethive

With its comprehensive wallet and member merchant accounts nearing completion, the timing couldn’t be better to distinguish itself and gain a foothold in the crypto market. This bear market will see weak projects and unscrupulous players fall, and the meaningful, intense, and focused projects will survive and thrive.  

Some argue that the best bear strategy is to hoard cryptos, but a better approach is to earn more cryptos with one's existing holdings, which resembles receiving interest on bank deposits. This strategy is just one of the ways Markethive rewards its users who are part of the community. 

The whole ecosystem revolves around earning and accumulating your crypto holdings by being active on the platform and conducting ecommerce via their business facilitation, thereby creating traction and velocity that is very likely to propel the coin.  

As Markethive is a first-mover for the blockchain-related social media and marketing sector with its proprietary technology, it is poised to become mainstream in the next phase of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in the aftermath of the massive cleanup of all useless altcoins. Many experts in the cryptocurrency space have said they expect thousands of cryptocurrencies to collapse.

Some exchanges have already folded or laid off employees, including Coinbase. Much of this is due to the crypto crash and the fact they hold many of these dead coins on its exchange. Perhaps it’s time for them to rethink their strategies when listing cryptos. 

We are currently experiencing a collapse in traditional financial markets and many unprecedented events that are being hailed as “the storm”; spiritual, social, political, and economic – a  storm affecting every aspect of our lives. 

As the volatility of the global socioeconomic conditions continues on a downward trend, Markethive, guided by Divine inspiration, is here to pave the way as one of the new innovative technologies that will rise in the wake of this bear market.

There is a large contingent of people that believe that cryptocurrency can offer a more stable alternative. With more people investing and utilizing crypto, the market has more stable prices and less chance of being manipulated by outside forces. 

When looking beyond the shortcomings and issues of nascent technology, there are many positive benefits with new technology constantly emerging and the philosophical approach of many entrepreneurs heading the upcoming sophisticated projects. It makes sense why crypto is becoming an increasingly popular alternative for investing in the face of instability in traditional markets.

 

References:
Newsbtc.com
Benzinga

Also published @ BeforeIt’sNews.com: https://beforeitsnews.com/economy/2022/06/crypto-bear-market-why-experts-say-its-a-good-thing 

 

Tim Moseley

Why the Market’s Pain Will Last Longer Than It Should

Why the Market's Pain Will Last Longer Than It Should

by Amanda Heckman, editorial director, Manward Financial Bulletin

 

Stock Market Pain

 

We get into trouble for saying it…

But the government is the greatest threat to our wealth.

Look no further than the comments from both President Biden and Fed Chair Jay Powell this week.

We could be convinced the two men were delirious (or drunk with power?).

Both went to Congress this week, begging for permission to continue wreaking havoc on our economy… and its investors.

And both placed the blame for our woes on a familiar enemy when they should have instead looked in the mirror.

That's why we can expect this painful market to last far longer than it should.

Laying Blame

On Wednesday, Biden called on Congress to suspend federal gas taxes for three months in order to bring families "a little bit of relief."

Let's forget the fact that gas tax holidays don't work the way he wants Americans to think they do. They encourage more driving, which means folks don't really save all that much. More driving creates more demand, which puts pressure on supply and causes prices to rise. And they rob the federal Highway Trust Fund of money needed for critical infrastructure repairs.

No, let's not talk about those minor details.

Instead, let's focus on this nugget from his speech…

"For all Republicans criticizing me for high gas prices in America, are you now saying we were wrong to support Ukraine and stand up to Putin? Are you saying that we'd rather have lower gas prices in America than Putin's iron fist in Europe?"

What?

Biden essentially asked Americans whether they'd rather have higher gas prices or let Putin win.

That is a shocking attempt to manipulate folks and place the blame for higher gas prices on a conflict that has, in Andy's words, been "managed in the worst possible way from a monetary standpoint, from a life standpoint, from a political standpoint" by the U.S.

Biden blamed Russia… when the true cause actually lies much closer to home.

Oil and gas prices have been on the rise since the start of Biden's presidency (actually, since Election Day) and the cancellation of a key pipeline on his first day in office.

 

The Trend Is Clear With Oil and Gas Prices

 

The truth is that a politically motivated push to alternative, cleaner sources of energy (with the goal of putting the fossil fuel industry out of business) has disincentivized oil companies from investing in expanding infrastructure and production.

Many of the oil majors are – due to regulatory pressure – shutting down refineries rather than updating them.

Yet the clean-energy movement has barely made a dent in the automotive sector… with electric vehicles making up just 5% of cars on the road.

That means there's still plenty of demand for oil… but fewer resources going into providing it.

So it shouldn't be a surprise that this squeeze is showing up at the pump.

But the folks in charge won't admit that. Instead, they blame the Russian boogeyman in a ploy to lower gas prices ahead of a crucial midterm election.

Wrong Again

Biden's partner in crime, Jay Powell, also showed up at the Capitol, again attempting to calm nerves over high inflation.

He tried to reassure members of Congress that he was fully committed to bringing it down.

And he too blamed Russia for surging inflation

"The surge in prices of crude oil and other commodities that resulted from Russia's invasion of Ukraine is boosting prices for gasoline and fuel and is creating additional upward pressure on inflation." 

Again, that sure is a lot easier than admitting your own mistakes. The path to higher inflation was paved long ago. It could have been fixed back when the folks in charge were saying it was all "transitory" and nothing to worry about.

As Andy put it in a call with his Alpha Money Flow and Venture Fortunes subscribers recently…

"I mean, who couldn't have guessed that when we printed $5 trillion to $6 trillion in 2020 that we'd get inflation – or that pulling back would cause issues? You can't just give somebody a stimulant and not expect a headache or a hangover when you take it away."

So as the puppeteers scramble to appease the country by blaming our woes on a war half a world away… investors and consumers are watching their portfolios shrink and their savings disappear.

We were right again. The government truly is the greatest threat to our wealth.

It's a powerful statement… and it's never been more starkly true than it is today.

 

 


New Opportunities Are Emerging For Citizens of The World.

Freedom and democracy may appear to be struggling to stay alive in America, but there may be a knock-out punch ready to be released. The evolution of the blockchain-enabled metaverse is going to enable the 'Citizens of the World' to gain their own Freedom by democratizing power and creating a new world with new rules, new players, and new opportunities. For 99.99% of us, the metaverse will improve our real-world lives through the democratization of power and opportunity.

Along with the major long-term trend of society towards decentralization and smaller-scale organizations, there are new opportunities developing to help 'Preparers' in the cryptocurrency sector. Businesses are beginning to issue their own Crypto Coins that can be traded on Cryptocoin Exchanges.

Markethive.com for example will be releasing its HiveCoin (HIV) in the coming weeks. It has tremendous upside potential that is outlined in a Video by Founder Tom Prendergast, "Entrepreneur Advantage…".

Not only that, if you go to their website and register as a FREE Member, you will be given 500 HiveCoins for "FREE" along with access to several Earning Opportunities and online tools to increase your HiveCoin balance.

Be sure to check it out today – Markethive.com

Markethive

Tim Moseley

CBDC: The Greatest Violations of Human Rights in the Central Banking History

CBDC: The Greatest Violations of Human Rights in the Central Banking History 

The creation of blockchain technology solved a decades-long computer science problem and released a financial revolution in the form of cryptocurrency. Digital currency has taken the world by surprise. It has been adopted by hundreds of millions of people globally and is worth approximately $1 trillion in market capitalization based on daily fluctuations in US dollar prices.

As you can see, the legacy system has closely watched the rise of bitcoin with a combination of admiration and fear. Many traditional institutions, especially central banks, are impressed with the creation of genuinely digital currency, along with how quickly people have adopted this technology in every economy. These people are observing in fear as they admit that their institutions have no control over the money supply in this new digital financial system.

The control and production of money have historically been reserved for central banks, but this monopoly on money is directly tied to the central bank's close relationship with the government. The government has a monopoly on violence, so they can ensure that central banks will continue their precise control and production of money. Any attempt to circumvent the main banking structure has been met with a swift and ruthless response.

This is why the decentralization of cryptocurrency is so essential. Since central banks can not rely on governments to close down this new entrant to the financial system, central bankers have been forced to examine how they can contend in the free market.

Central bankers aren't known for being innovative. I would argue that central bankers are profitable because they move at a glacial pace and make systemic bets on the world-changing very slowly. But crypto has threatened these institutions to consider digitizing their fiat currencies in a way that emulates the blockchain technology but contains some key differences.

Digitizing the dollar, euro, peso, naira, etc. is merely a technology upgrade. The monetary policy of these fiat currencies is unchanged. Similar to how fiat currencies were transitioned to electronic CUSIPs in centralized databases, central banks are considering a technology upgrade to token-based fiat currencies that are compatible with digital wallets.

So why are they considering this transition?

The optimistic person would argue that incorporating new technology is an attempt at modernization for an antiquated system. Users of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could send any amount of money whenever they want. The idea of long hours of operations would be a thing of the past. The payment rails that CBDCs will be built on would be more efficient, faster, have reasonable transaction fees, etc. Lastly, there would be increased transparency in the system, which theoretically could decrease crime and improve the market's safety.

That is the positive perspective. But we have to be extremely careful here. Central bank digital currencies will likely be one of the most significant human rights violations in history.

Central bank digital currencies eliminate the privacy and decentralized nature of physical cash. It creates an environment where central banks control every aspect of a citizen's financial life.

Here are some instances of the awful events that we can expect to see in the coming decades:

Personalized inflation

Central banks can manipulate interest rates and expand/contract the money supply. Any modifications that they make are applied to all citizens equally. Market participants may likely make decisions to benefit or suffer from these outcomes. Nonetheless, the dollars I hold are subject to the same monetary policy as yours. This is going to change with CBDCs.

The central bank can personalize the financial approach to the individual. Just as your search results, newsfeed, and music playlists are personalized based on enormous amounts of data, the same is coming to money. Maybe I get a higher inflation rate to get me to spend money while you receive a lower inflation rate. Differentiation of Monetary Policy can be reduced in a million ways, including where you live, who you are, your wealth status, your occupation, your purchase history, and much more.

Financial censorship

Once a central bank's digital currency is in a population's hands, the central bank has solidified complete control. They will no longer need the court system or summon emergency authorities to tell you whom you can transact with. This can all be executed through remote, digital technologies.

These central bankers can see what is in your bank account, whom you transact with, what you purchase, and anything else they are curious about in your financial life. That full transparency with the state removes all elements of privacy while also allowing the institutions to censor any transactions that go against what they want, regardless of whether they have a legitimate reason or not.

Social credit system

When central banks and governments gain complete control over the financial system, they can reward or punish individual citizens for their actions. Have you been overeating candy? You can't buy candy anymore. Have you been gambling? Now you can't use public transportation heading in the casino's direction.

This sounds like crazy talk until you realize that the Bank of England is openly discussing this in public now. China already has one in place. Canada is executing one in real-time right now. Are you fat? Only healthy food can be purchased. Do you associate with people the central bank doesn't like? No entertainment for you. This is a deadly slippery slope that is coming quickly.

Expiration of money

Central banks would constantly try to incentivize people to spend more money in the economy to increase the momentum of money. Without the speed of cash, the system starts to break down. So what better way to increase the money rate than to have people's money expire if they don't spend it in a certain period. The United States already has a version of this in operation through SNAP benefits and EBT cards, where the money expires one year after it is issued unless it has been used. The intention is that the government will enhance this idea of expiration of funds to include shorter timelines and a more specific number of programs in the future.

Image courtesy of Digitalasset

These are just four examples of various activities that I anticipate central banks will engage in once they successfully create and distribute central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). As the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The dream of every dictator or authoritarian leader globally is to have complete control over every aspect of their citizens' lives. Suppose the government can not only censor your financial transactions based on a social credit system, but it can also personalize the monetary policy and give you money with an expiration date. In that case, we are headed to a dystopian future that no one will want to live in.

The fundamental human right is that we are all born free people. The creation of central bank digital currencies will eliminate that premise. Every human born will be starting in an authoritarian state that requires them to be a digital slave to a central bank with total control over their life. If you don't have the freedom to transact, you don't have freedom at all.

Central bank digital currencies are the next frontier for the battle for freedom. Every human being should have the right to financial privacy and independence. This is a meaningful conversation that must start now. Without global awareness, central banks will pull off the most significant human rights violation, and citizens will cheer them on while they do it.

 

References:

ecb.europa.eu

Sciencedirect

 

 

Tim Moseley

Gold holds above key support and the tug-of-war continues

Gold holds above key support, and the tug-of-war continues

Whether you describe the underlying cause of recent changes in financial assets as a tug-of-war, double-edged sword, or battle of opposing forces, inflation versus rising rates continues to cause market sentiment to oscillate. Depending on if inflation or rates are the primary focal points of market participants. That sentiment results in bullish or bearish currents for gold and the dollar as safe-haven assets.

Today, gold traded to a high of $1850.30 a low of $1824.50 and as of 5:55 PM, EDT had a fractional uptick. Gold futures had a trading range of approximately $25 but only managed to gain $0.90 on the day. August gold futures are currently fixed at $1839.70. This could be cited as a true example of opposing forces yielding no victory for either faction. With the FOMC meeting out of the way for this month, traders are awaiting the most recent inflationary data.

Today’s fractional gains in gold prices are occurring in conjunction with dollar weakness which provided tailwinds for pricing. The dollar index lost 0.2% today and is currently fixed at 104.00. Crude oil recently has traded as high as $123 per barrel. However, oil prices have softened and are currently fixed at $104.19. While crude oil prices are certainly still elevated and above $100 per barrel, oil has retreated over 15% in the last two weeks.

On Thursday, June 30 the government will release the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) for May. The CPI (Consumer Price Index) showed no indication that inflationary pressures were abating, in fact, it showed just the opposite with the inflation index running at its highest level since the pandemic at 8.6%. The most recent report for the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index was 6.3% in April, 6.6% in March, and 6.3% in February.

Chairman Powell refers to this index as a measurement of news headlines because it includes costs of both food and energy which is stripped out of the PCE which is a measure of core inflation. Because the tools of the Federal Reserve cannot address changes in energy and food costs the Federal Reserve prefers the PCE to the CPI.

The PCE inflation report will be a key component aiding Federal members at the July FOMC meeting as they determine potential changes in their tightening monetary policy. During the press conference of the FOMC meeting this month Powell said that it is highly likely that the Fed will raise rates by three quarters of a percent or 75 basis points once again in July.

With the latest economic outlook from the Federal Reserve indicates an economic contraction and reduced GDP coupled with a higher unemployment rate certainly opens the door for the possibility of stagflation. Next week’s PCE report will a major part of the data-dependent decisions made by the Federal Reserve.

 

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

The Artist that came out of the Winter