Today we discuss the beginning of the US Department of Justice investigation on bitcoin price manipulation, the latest bitcoin price predictions from John McAfee and Tom Lee, we review Bitcoin (BTC) prices and more.
MIT Begins Testing Lightning Network Bitcoin Platform
MIT, the prestigious technological institute in Massachusetts, has begun testing the execution of smart contracts within the Lightning Network Bitcoin platform. The goal is to see how transactions are carried out given specific parameters, such as weather, prices or any other defined parameter that could lead to the execution of a transaction. For this purpose, MIT has inserted “Oracles” into function, which are being used as entities of trust, dedicated to transmitting data to smart contracts.
MIT believes Lightning Network could provide great benefits to Bitcoin’s blockchain platform, allowing it to solve a lot of scalability issues. The project also seeks to provide new elements, such as smart contracts, which would add new functions to its blockchain platform. Although the study is still at an early stage, it could become a more efficient way to implement Bitcoin’s capabilities and technologies in other areas.
Tom Lee And John McAfee Bitcoin Price Predictions
According to CNBC, Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat, has predicted that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $25,000 sometime this year. During an interview, Lee established that Bitcoin’s production price was about $6,000, meaning that the coin is actually worth more than its production value. He attributed the sudden drop in prices to the volatility of the market. Lee also believes that institutional investors and their recent interest in the crypto market, are the main reason behind his assertion that prices will rise again. He is certain that clear regulations defining and classifying cryptos, perhaps as an asset class, will lead to a Bitcoin rally.
Tom Lee is not the only one with such strong predictions, John McAfee, the cryptocurrency evangelist, recently posted a short-term prediction for Bitcoin prices on Twitter. According to the founder of one of the biggest antivirus companies in the world, Bitcoin will reach $15,000 by June before dipping in July. However, a lot of community members are certain that prices will take a last big drop sometime during the next few months, before reaching previous highs.
Argentinian Bank To Use Bitcoin For International Transfers
Banco Masventas (BMV), an Argentinian bank, has recently announced its partnership with Bitex, a Latin American blockchain-based financial service provider, with the sole purpose of replacing SWIFT with Bitcoin for international wire transfers. According to the announcement, the new service aims to provide clients with a way to transfer money from one account to another a lot faster than conventional methods. They also hope to make the transactions more secure. Banco Masventa join other major banks in the world who have also opted to use blockchain technology to improve old transaction mechanisms.
Ripple and its xRapid platform has also reported that its services can reduce transactional times by between 40% and 70%, allowing them to be confirmed within 2 minutes, beating the 2-3 days that international wire transfers usually require. Perhaps we will finally be able to move money globally without having to wait days for confirmation, although we still have to wait to see if other major financial institutions start developing under blockchain technology.
US Opens Investigation Into Bitcoin Price Manipulation
According to a Bloomberg article, the US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the price manipulation of Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies. The investigation seeks to uncover if illegal practices are taking place, such as spoofing, where the market is flooded with fake orders to trick people into buying or selling; which could influence the market, generating major gains for those involved. The investigation is in collaboration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commision, which is the financial entity overseeing Bitcoin trading.
Although it’s in its early stages, the US Department of Justice is taking a stand against the defrauding of users, with a new policy cracking down on fake ICOs. The Winklevoss brothers, owners of the Gemini exchange, have also tried to impose regulatory measures among other exchanges in order to provide a more secure trading platform for users. The news has already affected the market badly, with Bitcoin losing almost 10% of it’s value since the article was published.
Bitcoin Loses Its $8,000 Support
Bitcoin (BTC) prices have shown a marked decline over the past week. After opening at the $8,400 mark, it dropped continuously, falling below the $8,000 support mark on Wednesday. This followed the news that the US Department Of Justice was looking into possible trading manipulation in the market. By Friday, it had dropped below $7,500, finally closing the week at about $7,300. The uncertainty in the market has hit prices quite hard, with a lot of community members concluding that cryptocurrencies may experience a major dip, before facing a recovery.
