Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Rally Takes Break, Uptrend Intact Above $140

ETH price extended the recent rally and traded above the $144 and $148 resistances against the US Dollar. The price traded close to the $150 level and later started consolidating gains above $145. There is a major bullish trend line in place with support at $142 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). There could be a short term downside correction, but buyers remain in action above $140. Ethereum price posted solid gains against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD tested the $150 resistance area and it…

Alleged Bitcoin Mining Scam Reported in Thailand

Victims of an alleged cryptocurrency mining scam have filed claims against the suspected perpetrator with the Technology Crime Suppression Division in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reports on Feb. 18. Per the report, 30 people have filed a complaint with police, stating that they were fooled into an alleged investment scam called “CryptoMining.Farm.” This purportedly led the loss of 42 million baht ($1.34 million). Local authorities reportedly suspect that a total of 140 individuals were affected by the scam. CryptoMining.Farm, which has offices registered in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, supposedly…

Blockchain Startup Takes on Mainstream Crowdfunding Sites to Cut Number of Failed Projects

A new blockchain platform is vowing to take on established crowdfunding sites — and argues that their lack of accountability means greater numbers of projects fail to deliver what they promised. Pledgecamp says its approach involves offering transparency through the form of smart contracts — and ensuring that entrepreneurs and the platform they host their projects on are equally invested in a campaign’s success. One of the startup’s features is known as Backer Insurance. Instead of funds being released in full as soon as a target is met, project creators must…

Owner of Indeed and Glassdoor Job Search Engines Invests In Privacy Coin Project Beam

Japanese employment information services company Recruit Co., Ltd. has invested in a blockchain-focused company Beam Development Limited, according to an announcement published on Feb. 18. Per today’s press release, Recruit has invested in Israeli blockchain startup Beam Development Limited. The investment was made through Recruit’s $25 million fund called RSP Blockchain Tech Fund Pte. Ltd. The latter is focused on investing and acquiring shares in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. Beam is a privacy-oriented crypto project that purportedly secures transactions by enabling transaction data to be verified by a specified third…

Another Bitcoin Break Near $4000 or Are The Bulls Rushing the Gate?

Bitcoin is over $3900 globally, though many exchanges still have it trading closer to $3850. Ethereum’s broken beyond $140, might take $150 before the day is through. Bitcoin Cash is right behind it. It’s green everywhere you look. Even Bitcoin SV is on the rebound, resting at $68 after $155 million in trades. Of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, only 4 were showing a negative 24-hour change. One was Paxos Standard. We should expect a high amount of conversions to be going on with stablecoins today, a lot of turbulence in…

Blockstream Publishes Schnorr-Based Test Code for Bitcoin Blockchain Upgrade

The Schnorr-based multi-signature scheme MuSig, a test code for a potential upgrade to the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, has been released by blockchain tech firm Blockstream, according to an announcement published on Feb. 18. Last January, four Bitcoin developers released a paper outlining how Schnorr multi-signatures (‘multisig’) could help scale the Bitcoin blockchain, saying that the technology could reduce its transaction size and “improve both performance and user privacy in Bitcoin”. In the paper, the developers state that MuSig is designed as “a protocol that allows a group of signers to…

Major Chinese University Launches Blockchain Research Center

One of the most selective universities in China, Fudan University, has opened a blockchain research center, according to an announcement published on Feb. 15. Per the announcement, Fudan University established the Shanghai Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Center in collaboration with Zhongan Online Property Insurance Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Zhongren Information Technology Co., Ltd. The center will purportedly carry out basic research on blockchain technology, demonstrate its application, as well as provide associated talent training. The establishment of the Shanghai Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Center will further promote the development and…

Bitcoin Unable to Solve Problems of Traditional Payment Systems

An official from Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain (BDE) believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is unable to resolve the problems faced by major payment systems. BDE’s Deputy General Director for financial innovations and market infrastructure, Carlos Colesa, gave his opinion on the leading cryptocurrency in a report published on Sunday, Feb. 17. The study dubbed “Bitcoin: a solution for payment systems or a solution in search of a problem?,” is marked as an “occasional paper,” according to Cointelegraph en Español. This  means that the Bank of Spain does not…

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, TRON, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, February 18

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. CNBC commentator and CEO of digital currency investment firm BKCM LLC, Brian Kelly, believes that, “Bitcoin is about 50 percent undervalued.” However, just because it is undervalued is not a good enough reason for it to move up. Kelly opines that due to extreme…

Major Omani Bank Joins RippleNet Cross-Border Payment Network

Oman’s second largest bank by market value, BankDhofar, has begun using RippleNet technology for cross-border payments to India. The news was tweeted by the managing director of South Asia and MENA at Ripple, Navin Gupta, on Feb. 16. RippleNet is a global blockchain-based payment network of institutional payment providers, that was developed by technology company Ripple. In January, RippleNet expanded its network to over 200 customers, including such industry players as JNFX, SendFriend, Transpaygo, FTCS and Euro Exim Bank. Per the recent announcement, BankDhofar has become the first bank in…