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Volatility to dominate gold market as ‘central banks running out of options’ bullish sentiment intact – Kitco’s gold price survey

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Volatility to dominate gold market as 'central banks running out of options,' bullish sentiment intact – Kitco's gold price survey

Despite a $20 retreat prior to the long weekend, the bullish sentiment continues to dominate the gold market with volatility keeping investors watching the $2,000 an ounce level again, according to Kitco's gold price survey.

During the short trading week, gold was able to breach a key resistance level of $1,975 an ounce, with June Comex gold futures touching a high of $1,985 on Wednesday. And even though prices saw a drop Thursday, gold futures are ending the week up 1.2%.

Most of the 13 participating analysts on the Wall Street side were bullish when asked about their gold price expectations for next week, with 46% projecting higher levels. Another 31% were bearish, estimating a bigger pullback. And the remaining 23% were neutral.

The Main Street side was even more decisively bullish. Out of the 1,254 participating retail investors, 72% expect higher prices, 16% estimate a move lower, and 12% are neutral, Kitco's survey showed. This was the highest retail participation since November 19.

Kitco Gold Survey

Wall Street

Bullish46%

Bearish31%

Neutral23%

VS

Main Street

Bullish72%

Bearish16%

Neutral12%

Many analysts pointed to technical progress gold made after moving past the $1,980 an ounce level, stating this was a sign of strong interest in the metal, which will continue to push prices higher.

"There is a growing belief in a long-term commodity rally along with the weakening of all major currencies. If gold can push through $2,000, it will invalidate the double top and leave it with unlimited room to run," Forexlive.com chief currency strategist Adam Button told Kitco News.

Gold has broken above multiple formations, which contributes to the bullish sentiment, said Moor Analytics creator Michael Moor.

However, with Good Friday and Easter holidays coming up, some are expecting trading to be thin due to the shortened week.

As gold price eyes $2,000 again, its 'big test' is yet to come, says MKS

"I am neutral on gold for the coming week. Technically it's in an upswing, but with so many holidays over the next few days, trading could be quiet in general, and it could be time for a pause with the price near the big $2,000/oz round number," said SIA Wealth Management chief market strategist Colin Cieszynski.

The bearish camp leaned towards a pullback next week as investors look to take profits after solid gains. However, even those who expect lower prices in the short term are confident that the overall macro environment supports higher prices going forward.

One long-term driver remains the global central banks, which are being backed into a corner by high inflation, said Adrian Day Asset Management president Adrian Day.

"We may see a pullback next week, but only shallow and 'transitory' before gold moves up again in response to higher inflation, central banks running out of options, and a deteriorating situation in Ukraine," he told Kitco News. "The higher U.S. inflation number makes some investors think that the Fed will actually tighten in a meaningful way. But in fact, it will make the eventual retreat by the Fed all the more bullish for gold. So we certainly would not be selling, but looking to add."

By Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

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Hivemapper Dashcam Earns Crypto

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Hivemapper Dashcam Earns Crypto

by Ashley Cassell, Editor, The New Digital World

Hivemapper Dashcam Earns Crypto

 

Aims to Compete with Google Maps

The “crypto winter” is thawing out pretty nicely now. Not only are prominent cryptos starting to bounce back in price… Innovation is making a comeback, too. So, if you got bored with all the DeFis and Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) clones, then good news: I think I’ve found the hottest crypto startup for Summer 2022.

The Google Maps Killer

What would it take to beat Google Maps at its own game? Or Apple Maps, for that matter? A worldwide fleet of GPS camera operators… And a vast amount of cash to hire them. It could be a vanity project for a billionaire – although Bezos, Musk, or Branson might find it less gratifying to the ego than, say, going to space!

Or… what if you could recruit an equally vast number of ordinary people to map out their corner of the world – by rewarding them in cryptocurrency? That’s what Hivemapper is all about.

Hivemapper, whose upcoming crypto token will use the ticker HONEY, just completed its Series A fundraising round. Now, it’s about to roll out its first device: the Hivemapper Dashcam. Just affix it to the windshield, dashboard, or exterior of your car… and the Dashcam “automatically transfers collected imagery to the Hivemapper Network” through an app on your phone.

As soon as people receive their Dashcams and hook them up to the Hivemapper Network, their devices will start mining the HONEY token, in proportion to how much map imagery (and GPS metadata) they contribute to the project. Hivemapper is built on Solana (SOL-USD), which founders say provides “the truly global scale that the Hivemapper Mapping Network needs to operate.”

Hivemapper’s crypto rewards are what sets the project apart from, say, Waze, which was absorbed into Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 2013.

“There are now something like 25,000 Waze map editors. These are people sitting behind their computer screen editing maps … on behalf of what is effectively a multitrillion-dollar company,” Hivemapper founder Ariel Seidman told CoinDesk. “And they don’t get paid, there’s nothing they get in return for that. They get, maybe, a Google T-shirt or a Waze hat, but that doesn’t sit right with me.”

After all, the global market for geospatial data & analytics is valued at “$256 billion by 2028,” according to Meticulous Research. And as the heavyweight champion of GIS, Google Maps can do things like raising its prices by 1,400% on app developers who need them…leaving customers scrambling for alternatives. (No wonder Google Maps is now under investigation for antitrust violations!)

But what’s the best way to snatch up some of that market share? Simply to keep the map up-to-date.

See, even with the Scrooge McDuck-like hoard of cash sitting at Apple and Google… “Street-level imagery in many parts of the world is only updated once every two years,” Seidman explains in TechCrunch! “This causes cascading logistical, municipal, and political problems. However, maps have the potential to be near real-time. An open-source, community-owned map is the only way to continuously construct a living, breathing, ever-updating view of our world.”

 

Source: Hivemapper

Hivemapper is just getting started – with the first Dashcams scheduled to ship in July. What’s next for the project? According to its whitepaper:

  • Contributors who sign up to review, annotate, and QA the map imagery will earn HONEY crypto, too.
  • Any developer can build apps that provide driving directions, traffic warnings, or custom maps (geocoding).
  • But to use Hivemapper’s APIs, developers will need to “burn” HONEY to receive Map Credits.
  • “These burned tokens then increase the number of tokens available to mint and to pay to map contributors,” capped at 10 billion.
  • Manufacturers can “seek approval” to make new hardware for Hivemapper, like cams for drones, scooters, and bikes, and add features like air-quality sensors or 3D.

Bottom line – this roadmap (so to speak) is exciting but long. It’ll take years to grow Hivemapper into a true rival to Google or Apple Maps.

 

 

Luckily, Helium (HNT-USD) provides a good model for how these projects can grow and succeed in the meantime.

Another “Proof of Physical Work” Project Grows 50X In A Year!

Helium is not unlike Hivemapper – and has a lot of the same investors, like Multicoin Capital, which provides a good, concise explanation of its investment thesis here.

Here, there’s also a physical device that mines crypto, in exchange for contributing to the network. But in this case, what you’re contributing is actually Wi-Fi coverage. By setting up a Helium Hotspot, you can share your internet connection with the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, like environmental sensors, GPS trackers, personal safety devices, and smart home/office devices. And you receive HNT crypto in return.

Unlike this new startup Hivemapper… Helium didn’t start out as a blockchain project. And without crypto incentives, it spent four years struggling to hawk its Hotspots to enough people for a robust network.

“The company was running out of money in 2017 when an engineer suggested, during an all-hands Scotch-drinking session, that more people might be willing to set up hot spots if they could earn cryptocurrency by doing it,” Kevin Roose reports for The New York Times in his memorably titled essay, “Maybe There’s a Use for Crypto After All.”

Now, the more people that use your Hotspot, the more crypto it earns. And from barely $1.50 in 2020, the HNT crypto reward is now worth over $21, even after coming through the long, hard crypto winter…a nice reward for long-term miners:

Source: CoinMarketCap

No wonder the Helium Network went from just 14,000 to 719,344 hotspots in the past year! The network is now present in 54,840 cities across 170 countries. That’s 12% growth – and 5,471 additional cities – in just the last 30 days!

Also in the last 30 days, the network seems pretty active, with users burning $4.7 billion worth of HNT for transaction fees (called Data Credits).

After all, this level of coverage for IoT devices puts the Helium Network in high demand. So in March, its leadership announced a new Helium Roaming Services program, where it will partner with other networks to provide their clients with roaming coverage through Helium. “Roaming partners and their customers, such as Volvo Group, Cisco, Schneider Electric, Accenture, and more, will dramatically increase overall usage of the Helium Network and will be important drivers of data transfer rewards for Hotspot owners.”

As we see below in its network map, Helium Hotspots are pretty popular in Europe, not to mention the United States and China:

Source: Helium

Helium is further along than Hivemapper in its fundraising, too. Having just renamed to Nova Labs (to emphasize the decentralized, community nature of the Helium Network itself), the company “just closed a $200 million Series D equity round from some big-name investors like Google Ventures, Tiger Global, and Andreessen Horowitz,” as Luke Lango reported in a recent update to his Crypto Investor Network.

“It clearly appears that Helium is firing on all cylinders right now. This remains one of our favorite long-term cryptos,” Luke concludes.

These “proof of physical work” projects also tend to be discussed as possibilities for big institutional investors.

“Where might institutional investors find value in crypto?” wonders Byron Gilliam in his Blockworks newsletter. One “possibility is protocols that provide real-world utility, like Render, Helium, or Livepeer. Those will look more like investable companies to traditional asset managers.”

Right now, though, any crypto that’s smaller than Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) is a no-go for most institutions. This is the early advantage that we have as “retail investors”: We have the flexibility to invest like a venture capitalist in great projects like Helium – and, soon, Hivemapper.

With a $265 billion total addressable market (TAM), Hivemapper has enormous opportunities ahead. Let’s say they grab 10% or even just 5% of the market share from Google and Apple. If we put Hivemapper’s valuation similar to Helium’s ($1.2 billion today), then this is easily a 10X opportunity for a company with a cool, unique idea – that brings huge utility.

 

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

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My mind has always been complex Bubbling and percolating with ideas

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My mind has always been complex. Bubbling and percolating with ideas.

My first memory was a Holy Ghost experience. I have a thirst for knowledge and a thirst for the Lord. An unquenchable thirst, that has driven me my whole life with a spirit of urgency.

Markethive is the culmination of many systems I began building in 1996, prior to that I was driven to learn computers, coding and marketing. In 1984 I acquired my first computer and started an ad agency in the San Francisco Bay Area (Palo Alto)

Markethive is my life work, and as I have aged and become aware of the tech markets I became aware of Elon Musk from his Paypal days to his incredible focus, dedication to making the world a better place and how similar we are.

If you want to know me better, watch this video. I am Elon Musks little twin in so many ways.

Markethive is my Tesla my Spacex, designed to make the world a better place. A home superior to what social networks exist. A platform of freedom and liberty a kingdom built for the entrepreneur and innovator.

Elon talks about how he had to become the Chief Engineer because he could not find any that were any good to join and realized less than that was a mistake. A mistake I made 3 times and now I am that self-taught Markethive Chief Engineer.

Like Elon, I will never give up. I will either have to die or become completely mentally incapacitated.

Watch the video and see how it reflects Markethive in so many ways.

Thomas Prendergast
CEO
 

Tim Moseley

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Those who know Easter cannot despair

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Feast of Hope Easter – Why? Because Easter gives us hope! On this most important of all Christian feasts we celebrate: that Jesus has conquered death. That he rose from the dead and gave us hope – for eternal life.

Easter thus stands in stark contrast to the 40 preceding days of Lent and Penance. 40 days – that's how long Jesus fasted in the desert, finding himself and God, before setting out to proclaim his message. 40 days for us today to renounce something and thereby become aware of our own life again. To reflect on our own life – and on God.

At the end of Lent are Maundy Thursday, commemorating Jesus' last supper with his disciples, and Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified. The Easter Vigil, the night from Saturday to Easter Sunday, then celebrates the raising of Jesus from the dead. That is why during the Easter Vigil Mass, the Exsultet, the sung Easter praise, says:

This is the night of which it is written:
"The night becomes bright like the day,
like radiant light the night will surround me."

The radiance of this holy night
takes away iniquity,
cleanses from guilt,
gives innocence to sinners,
joy to the mourners.
It drives away hatred,
unites hearts
and bends the powers.

It shines until the morning star appears,
that true morning star, which never sets:
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who rose from the dead,
who shines for mankind in the paschal light;
who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.

A pator, Franciscan friar and spiritual director reflected on the theme of resurrection at the conclusion of Lent:

"It is like a miracle when the sun rises in the morning and we are allowed to get up again. Only when you can't get up do you feel how agonizing it is to have to stay lying down. To be allowed to get up, to be able to move, to be free, not to be dependent on outside help – what a grace that is given to us anew every day. For it is not a matter of course that this gift is given to us. Anyone who is ill can tell you a thing or two about it.
The idea of what it means to get up helps to get an idea of what Easter, the feast of the resurrection, means. Because here it concerns before a lying, which carries the name death. No man can rise from death by his own strength. One can be raised from death only by an external force, just as we are awakened from sleep.
This, however, is the almost unbelievable belief of Christianity that Jesus was raised from the dead. We humans did not make up this belief. This faith is a gift, just as the life of Jesus Christ himself, his deeds and words are a gift to this world.
That is why Easter is a feast of rejoicing, of thanksgiving, of singing. As the Easter fires light up the evening, and as the sun rises anew with its bright light in the morning, may this Easter faith in the Risen Lord rise anew in the hearts of the faithful and bring light to this world."

Hallelujah!
Those who can trust this message may have hope: for their loved ones, for the people in the crisis areas of the world – and for themselves. For hope, as fragile as it may sometimes seem, can give strength to a love that can move mountains.

Whoever knows this, whoever knows Easter, can really not despair. Instead, it means: rejoicing irrepressibly, joining in the Hallelujah that was not sung during Lent, but now resounds again in the churches. "Hallelujah" is a Hebrew word: "Hallel" is rejoicing, "yes" is the short form of God's name "Yahweh." So Hallelujah means "Rejoice in God!". And not only at Easter, but also beyond, because this time offers so much reason to rejoice that a few days are not enough for it.

The week after Easter is therefore a time of particularly intense celebration – and feasting, because Lent is now finally over. The festive week closes with "White Sunday". This is named because in the early days of the church, the new Christians baptized at the Easter Vigil wore their white baptismal robes throughout Easter week until the following Sunday.

But celebrations continue even after White Sunday: seven times seven days is the time of rejoicing over Jesus' resurrection – it ends only on the 50th day, on the weekend of Pentecost, which is celebrated as the founding feast of the Church. On Pentecost, Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on his disciples and sent them out to proclaim what he promised them and all people after his resurrection: I am with you always, until the end of the world

Tim Moseley

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The goldsilver ratio moves back into familiar territory

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The gold/silver ratio moves back into familiar territory

The gold/silver ratio has moved back into familiar territory. The price has moved back into a wedge-type formation on the daily chart below. The trendlines have acted as clear support and resistance levels with both being tested and respected around three times each. More recently the price has moved to the lower bound of the pattern and bounced back up. In terms of support levels, the yellow line at 75.90 is the one to watch but if that breaks 74.64 could be next.

The upside looks more interesting, 79.00 is the previous wave high but the main high on the chart is at the green line (82.13). There is a massive consolidation area at 77.85 and this is where the price seems to gravitate towards. If there is to be another move higher it looks like it could be a magnet for the price once more.

Lastly, the price has also bounced off the 200-day simple moving average (SMA). On this chart, there has not been too much significance on this moving average but historically it has been a good indicator of trend. There was a period between 2017 and 2019 where the 200 SMA worked a treat.

By Rajan Dhall

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

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US dollar is gold’s main obstacle in breaching 2k analysts

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U.S. dollar is gold's main obstacle in breaching $2k – analysts

Gold tested a critical level this week on its way to $2,000, but one of its main obstacles remains a strong U.S. dollar, according to analysts.

Despite a selloff during the week's last trading day, gold is still up 1.5%, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $1,974.6 after rising above $1,985 an ounce a day earlier.

After seeing renewed safe-haven appeal amid significant geopolitical tensions, the U.S. dollar is limiting gold's upside. The U.S. dollar index breached the key psychological level of 100 Thursday, last trading at 100.36.

"Gold is receiving strong haven demand. But we see the same thing with the U.S. dollar. That will be a potential headwind for gold. The USD is being viewed as the 'cleanest dirty shirt in the laundry.' Investors are looking for safety outside of some of the chaos and uncertainty that we see in the markets. The argument is similar to gold — it is viewed as a trusted place," Gainesville Coins precious metals expert Everett Millman told Kitco News.

Escaating tensions further was Russia threatening to deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles if Sweden and Finland joined NATO. The comments came from Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council. "There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic – the balance must be restored," said Medvedev, who is also former Russian president (2008-2012).

This comes just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced he is providing Ukraine with an additional $800 million worth of firepower, including heavy artillery.

Renewed pressure from the stronger U.S. dollar could keep gold stuck in a trading range until the index falls back below 100.

"The dollar had quite the run. There was the belief that the rally would pause at the 100 level. But we are seeing further bullish momentum. Short-term, the dollar could appreciate more. That's why I'm neutral on gold. Fundamentals and still intact for bullish momentum in gold, but a stronger dollar could limit [the metal's prospects for now]," OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya told Kitco News.

Rising yields in the U.S. are also boosting the greenback and pressuring the precious metal, said TD Securities head of global strategy Bart Melek.

"The dollar rallied to some extent because we've seen yields across the curve move up as well. The 2s, 10s, and 30s are all moving up. This is an important factor in driving prices here. Real rates are moving up here as well," Melek said.

'Recession is coming next year': time to sell stocks, buy Bitcoin – Mashinsky

On its way to $2,000 an ounce, gold will have a harder time breaching the $1,975 an ounce level than the $2,000 one, said RJO Futures senior market strategist Frank Cholly.

"The dollar is probably the biggest factor right now. If the dollar dips back down towards 99-98 range, that will make it a lot easier for gold to break through $2,000, which will eventually happen," Cholly told Kitco News.

The $2,000 level could be within reach in the next month or so, but traders should be ready for volatility in either direction, Millman added. "In terms of factors that would drive it, it won't take much. The level of anxiety and fear in markets justifies that price level. By the same token, if there is a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine or inflation expectations come down, gold will drop to $1,900," he noted.

The gold market will also be paying very close attention to guidance from central banks around the world, especially to the Bank of England interest rate announcement and the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting in May.

Markets will continue to price in aggressive tightening cycles, kicked off by the Bank of Canada's oversized 50 basis point hike on Wednesday.

"Markets will be watching how other central banks respond to inflation. The ECB didn't do anything and leaning more dovish. At the same time, many other central banks will be pretty hawkish now," Millman said.

The Fed might be perceived as behind the curve on inflation as it focuses on the core inflation measure instead of the headline number, which could be a mistake, Melek pointed out. "We saw the largest increase in inflation in the U.S. since 1981, with inflation accelerating to 8.5% in March. But the core, which excludes food and energy, looked better. Will this convince some traders that the U.S. central bank may not need to be as aggressive?" he asked.

Data to watch

Wednesday: U.S. existing home sales

Thursday: Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index, jobless claims

Friday: Manufacturing PMI

 

By Anna Golubova

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

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Cardano Whales On Buying Spree

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Cardano Whales On Buying Spree With Record ADA Holdings As Price Closes In On Bullish Sprint

By Newton Gitonga – April 13, 2022

Cardano’s biggest whales seem to have bounced back after an eight-month-long drawdown that saw investors offset some of their ADA holdings for profit to scoop up more coins.

According to blockchain analytics firm Santiment, despite ADA being down close to 60% from September highs, ADA whales are back to owning the largest supply of coins. ADA whales are entities that hold 10 million coins or more in their wallets.

“Cardano is down -59% since its $3.10 all-time high. However, the asset’s top whales (holding 10M+ ADA) have returned to their largest percentage of supply held in two years, at 46.6%. Note that a large portion of these addresses is owned by exchanges.” Santiment wrote on Tuesday.


(Click image for larger view)

A recent report by the firm has also shown that the group of addresses holding between 10,000 to 100,000 ADA has been accumulating rapidly, as they continuously bought dips since the price started dropping in late September and now hold 16.8% of the available supply./p>

Santiment also sheds light on Bitcoin’s whale behavior, noting that the cryptocurrency saw a steady supply of 4,000 whale transactions exceeding $1M+ Monday through Friday, with mild slowdowns on weekends. It however notes that large increases are needed if the price is to foreshadow March highs./p>


(Click image for larger view)

Looking at Ethereum and other altcoins, Santiment noted that the ongoing FUD could create “buy the dip” opportunities. The firm also mapped out elevated growth in exchange outflows for ETH, noting that “this climb continues pointing to a greater proportion being kept away from exchange sell-off risk.”/p>

That said, ADA continues its struggle to reclaim the $1 price level after slumping along with other major cryptocurrencies as a result of negative macroeconomic events. Two weeks ago, ADA managed to rise above $1 after bouncing off the $0.78 support and breaking a crucial resistance downtrend line before tapping $1.25. That strength, however, seems to have been sapped in the past ten days, with the price falling below the dollar threshold./p>

Santiment has stated that apart from positive fundamentals, for ADA’s price to rise, an uptick in the number of transactions equal to $100,000+ would be crucial. This may perhaps inject the much-needed liquidity to push ADA back to fresh highs. At press time, ADA ($32B Capitalization) is trading at $0.96, up 5,460.20% from its all-time low./p>

DISCLAIMER: None Of The Information You Read On ZyCrypto Should Be Regarded As Investment Advice. Cryptocurrencies Are Highly Volatile, Conduct Your Own Research Before Making Any Investment Decisions.

The original article written by Newton Gitonga and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

** Loans, secure funding for business projects in the USA and around the world. Learn more about USA & International Financing at Commercial Funding International. **

Tim Moseley

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Gold moves higher as inflation and Ukraine fears dwarf concerns over hawkish Fed

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Gold moves higher as inflation and Ukraine fears dwarf concerns over hawkish Fed

Market participants continue to be extremely focused on the spiralling level of inflation and war in Ukraine more than their apprehensions about future actions by the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates this year. Yesterday's release of the CPI for March which came in at 8.5% underscores concerns about a ½ a percent hike in interest rates by the Federal Reserve next month.

Gold prices have been rising steadily over this last week which illustrates that investors are more alarmed by the current level of inflation and escalation of military action by Russia in Ukraine than by the future actions of the Federal Reserve.

As of 4:55 PM EDT gold futures basis, the most active June contract is fixed at $1981.70 after factoring in a gain of $5.60. Gold prices have been advancing since April 6 the last day that gold prices declined. Over the last five consecutive trading days gold prices have moved higher. Today gold futures traded to a high of $1985.80 and a low of $1966.30.

While some analysts and the Federal Reserve have been indicating that inflationary pressures should be peaking and will begin to decline other analysts, including myself see that as an incorrect assumption. A realistic look at what is driving inflation to higher levels cannot justify the belief that inflationary pressures are peaking. Inflation had been moving higher before the invasion of Ukraine; however, the war has added additional pressure that will most certainly continue to move inflation higher. Yesterday's report showed that one of the primary forces moving inflation higher last month was the cost of gasoline which increased by 18% month over month.

The spike in energy costs was largely due to the increasing price of crude oil which is back above $100 per barrel. Currently, light crude futures are trading at $104.32 up $3.71 today, and are largely attributed to the Ukrainian conflict resulting in many European countries as well as the United States boycotting imports of Russian oil. Russia is the third-largest producer of crude oil behind the production of the United States the number one producer, and Saudi Arabia the second largest producer.

Therefore, as long as Russia's military escalates its actions in Ukraine, we can expect to see tight inventories of crude oil worldwide. This is unlikely to change soon as Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that peace talks between their two countries are at a dead-end, promising that Russia would achieve all of its "noble" aims in Ukraine.

Another force moving inflation higher was the cost of food. Russia is the third-largest producer of wheat, and Ukraine is the fifth largest producer of corn meaning that as long as the conflict in Ukraine continues collectively Russia and Ukraine's exports will cease or diminish and continue to reduce the amount exported to the European Union pressuring food prices globally to continue to rise.

Food and energy costs globally will continue to rise as long as the war in Ukraine continues. This clearly shows that inflationary pressures are a by-product of supply chain issues that cannot be addressed or reduced by the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

To believe that inflation has peaked is an unrealistic assumption based on the fact that the largest rise in inflation in the United States and globally are directly attributable to rising energy and food costs. While many analysts and the Federal Reserve continue to state that inflationary levels will subside, as long as the war in Ukraine continues this assumption makes no logical sense. This is why market participants are focusing on levels of inflation rather than the future actions of the Federal Reserve.

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

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Global inflation concerns result in aggressive action by central banks

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Global inflation concerns result in aggressive action by central banks

Inflation is not limited to the United States. It is a global phenomenon prompting central banks worldwide to take action. Central banks worldwide are quickly moving to a more aggressive monetary policy in an attempt to stave off the spiraling international level of inflation. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John Williams, spoke to Bloomberg Television saying that ½ a percent hike in interest rates is a 'very reasonable option' for May.

He also addressed the endgame and timeline to achieve interest rate normalization, saying, "We need to get to a more neutral or normal level of the fed funds rate, though whether that would be the end of the year or exactly when will depend on the data … The Fed should get "real" interest rates — nominal borrowing costs minus expected the inflation rate — back up to a more normal level by next year."

According to the CME's FedWatch tool, there is a 91.06% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by at least ½% and implement that rate hike after next month's FOMC meeting. Changes in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy initiating steps to curtail the highest level of inflation the United States is seen in the last 40 years is not an isolated stance. According to Reuters, "Central banks are racing to get on top of surging inflation, with New Zealand and Canada delivering aggressive half-point rate hikes this week and the ECB on Thursday sticking with plans to dial back stimulus this year."

Central banks addressing spiraling inflation include New Zealand, Norway, Canada, Britain, the United States, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, and the European Union. Truly this is a worldwide issue requiring action by countries throughout the globe. At the same time, central banks are also extremely cognizant that the war in Ukraine has created consequences that are rippling through economies across multiple continents.

Gold is sensitive to rising rates as a haven asset. However, interest rate hikes will lessen the demand for holding nonyielding bullion. As of 5:18 PM EDT gold futures basis, the most active June 2022 contract is down $7.60 and fixed at $1977.10. The futures contract traded to a low today of $1962.70 and a high of $1984. The gold chart included with this letter indicates that there is strong technical support for gold at approximately $1963 per ounce. This matches today's low of $1962.70 along with resistance at this price point that occurred at the beginning and end of March.

However, central banks across the board have acknowledged that the rise in inflation contains a large component of the fallout from the war in Ukraine. This war has had a major impact on global food and energy costs which will not diminish as long as the conflict in Ukraine continues. Even with central bank intervention, simply raising interest rates will not diminish the demand for essential products such as food and energy costs which collectively account for a substantial percentage of inflationary pressures that currently exist.
 

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

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Why The Government Won’t Ban Bitcoin

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Why The Government Won’t Ban Bitcoin

by Tika Tiwari, editor, Palm Beach Daily

 

Bitcoin Is Aligned With American Values

Last week, while attending the Bitcoin Miami Conference, one of my high-net-worth friends invited me to a special, closed-door meeting with U.S. Representative Pete Sessions. Sessions, who is from Texas, was also in town for the conference. He believes bitcoin is “aligned with American values” and predicts that it’ll work to strengthen the U.S. dollar. He also wants to make sure Congress doesn’t regulate the burgeoning crypto economy out of existence.

My friend who invited me to the meeting has made a fortune in crypto. And he’s worried about government overregulation of digital assets. So he put together a small, exclusive gathering of heavy hitters from Wall Street and the blockchain space to speak to the congressman. And the first person he introduced Rep. Sessions to was me.

He trusts me to speak about bitcoin to a political heavyweight like Rep. Sessions because he made his crypto fortune following my newsletters. In a moment, I’ll share my thoughts on whether the government will ban bitcoin. But first, I want to say I’m humbled that my work for everyday Americans has put me in the position to advocate for the government on behalf of this groundbreaking technology.

If it weren’t for you believing in me, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And I wouldn’t be able to push for regulations that will cultivate the crypto ecosystem, not suppress it. I’ve never seen an asset with more power to transform the lives of everyday people than bitcoin and crypto-assets…

There’s a dentist from Oklahoma City I met who turned a few thousand dollars into $2 million… and an auto parts salesman who made six figures from a single $500 investment in one of my ideas. These are the kinds of people I fight for. People like you. Because, like Rep. Sessions, I believe bitcoin is “aligned with American values.” Now, let me turn to my thoughts on potential regulation…

The No. 1 Worry Among Bitcoin Investors

Last month, President Biden signed an executive order calling on the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. Even now, people are still freaking out about this order. They believe it’ll lead to restrictive rules that will stifle innovation. But I’m not worried.

The order says exactly what you would want it to say… And the U.S. will not get left behind on blockchain technology. The U.S. government is now taking a unified approach to providing regulatory guardrails the industry can use to grow in a compliant way. The decision to pursue a unified regulatory framework will be the foundational launching pad that will propel the entire United States into the blockchain age.

Why the sudden change of heart by the government?

I believe it all comes down to something I’ve been saying for years: Never bet against Wall Street greed. If we’ve learned one thing about global governments, it’s that they don’t stand in the way of the big banks’ desire to make money.

Take the 2007 housing crash. It was among the top five most devasting financial crises in history. The stock market plummeted, wiping out nearly $8 trillion in value between late 2007 and 2009… Americans lost $9.8 trillion in wealth as their home values plummeted and their retirement accounts vaporized. But after that horrible financial crisis, did the government ban mortgage-backed securities… credit default swaps… or collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)?

 

 

No.

Those financial products brought our country to its knees. Yet, the government didn’t eliminate them… (Which is shocking to me.) So, why didn’t they get banned? The answer is simple: Wall Street makes too much money from them. And with every big bank now offering bitcoin to their “high-net-worth” clients… they now want to make sure they have the regulation in place to roll out crypto products to the rest of their millions of “ordinary” clients.

To be clear: I’m not comparing bitcoin to mortgage-backed securities or CDOs. Unlike those risky financial products – which relied on trusting that your counterparty was delivering what they said they would deliver and would have the funds to pay you – bitcoin is completely different.

  • It’s completely transparent. The bitcoin blockchain allows you to see and verify if your counterparty has what they say they have.
  • It is finite. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin minted.
  • It is tamper-proof. No matter how much power, money, guns, or influence you have… you can never make the bitcoin network do something it’s not coded to do.

This is why I consider bitcoin to be a world-class asset. And they want a piece of the action.

Think about this… Bitcoin is a $1 trillion asset. And it hit that market cap with every banker on the planet hating it. I know many people who lost their bank accounts when they bought bitcoin during its early days. I surely did when I wired money from my bank to Coinbase. (I still have banks that will refuse to let me open an account simply because I write about bitcoin and crypto-assets.)

Fast forward to today, and every major U.S. brokerage firm supports it.

Again, bitcoin went to a $1 trillion value while operating outside the traditional financial system. What do you think its value will hit inside the financial system? Is it $10 trillion… $20 trillion… $30 trillion… $40 trillion? Do you think Wall Street is going to give up all the fees that will come from a run-up like that? Do you think the federal government is going to give up all the tax revenue from that growth?

No, they won’t. With that much money at stake, don’t be surprised to see the financial and government establishments start defending bitcoin and crypto-assets. Look, the facts tell me we have moved past the risk of the U.S. government banning bitcoin.

Now, is that a certainty? No. I can’t give you certainty… certainty is a myth. But I can give you highly educated viewpoints based on years of research. And all of what I know of bitcoin, human behavior, and Wall Street greed tells me we’ve moved beyond bitcoin and crypto-assets being banned.

The Coming Crypto Panic

As I told the congressman’s panel, bitcoin has reached escape velocity. I believe it’ll eventually be a primary base layer of the global financial system the way that government bonds are now. Central banks around the globe will hold bitcoin as a reserve currency on their balance sheets much as they do with gold and U.S. dollars.

But please bear this in mind… While the threat of a bitcoin ban is largely behind us… it doesn’t mean it’ll be smooth sailing between here and bitcoin’s rise to a premier global monetary asset. Between now and then, we’ll see a LOT of volatility.

And right now, I see a coming “crypto panic.” It all has to do with an event coming to crypto that’s never happened before. Only a handful of people know about it. And it’s guaranteed to happen. No matter what.

Now, I’m not talking about a bitcoin halving or anything like that. This event will only happen once. That’s it. In my opinion, it could be the biggest crypto event of this decade. And when it happens, I believe it will trigger a crypto panic as we’ve never seen before.

To prepare you for this event, I’m holding a special briefing on April 20 at 8 p.m. ET. It’s called Crypto’s Coming Panic: Teeka Tiwari’s Most Important Warning of His Career. During this briefing, I’ll share my playbook for thriving and surviving this coming panic. For those who follow my playbook, it’ll offer a chance at securing a lifetime of wealth and income that has the power to change the course of your entire generational line.

This investment could fund your lifestyle… your children’s lifestyle… and their children’s lifestyle. So be sure to join me on Wednesday, April 20, at 8 p.m. ET. I’ll tell you all about the crypto panic on the horizon… and reveal details that you won’t hear from mainstream outlets like CNBC or Bloomberg. You’ll even get the name of one of my top cryptos to play this panic… absolutely free. My free picks have averaged a gain of over 1,500%. That’s 16x your money… So please make sure you attend and take advantage of my free pick right away.

Friends, in my opinion, we’ve moved past concerns about the government banning bitcoin. But you need to be aware of this important warning I have for you. Hearing it could be the difference between a lifetime of generational wealth or a lifetime of regret for missing out.

Let the Game Come to You!

 

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

The Artist that came out of the Winter