Bitcoin price LIVE: BTC at $8k as Visa executive say crypto is for 'CROOKS'
BITCOIN has remained steady around the $8,000 mark while a Visa executive has claimed that people who invest in bitcoin are "crooks" and have “no clue”.
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AFTERNOON HEADLINES
Bitcoin currently lies at $8,271.
Vasant Prabhu, chief financial officer of Visa has offered some harsh words for his opinion on bitcoin and the people who choose to invest in it.
Mr Prabhu said: “The people asking me are the ones who scare the hell out of me. You know, guys like the limo driver to the airport . . . They have no idea what they are doing.
“Every crook and every dirty politician in the world, I bet, is in cryptocurrency.”
He detailed how a bank employee had told him six months ago how he planned to sell bitcoin in March as he thinks this is when the price will peak.
Mr Prabhu said: “This is the ultimate thing that you hear about when you have a bubble, when the guy shining your shoes tells you what stock to buy.”
March has not been a great month for bitcoin, considering it was worth $20,000 in late December last year.
Visa does have a higher market capitalisation than bitcoin. Visa’s is $279billion compared to bitcoin’s $139billion.
Other well known financial individuals have previously criticised bitcoin but then rowed back on their comments. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase stated he regretted describing bitcoin as a “fraud”.
Still, Visa has not implemented a block on consumers from using its network to buy cryptocurrencies as of yet.
However, as ever there are those that come to bitcoin’s defence.
Chris Skinner, a financial technology author who has written ‘Digital Bank’ ‘ValueWeb’ and is an independent commentator on his blog Finanser.com believes it is simply not true to imply the main use of cryptocurrencies is criminal activities.
Mr Skinner said: “There is some criminal activity associated with some cryptocurrencies but it is quite minimal. It’s a myth that the financial community want to promote.”
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8.00am MORNING HEADLINES
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime.
Bloomberg has reported this morning that bitcoin’s 50-day moving average has dropped to the closest proximity to its 200-day moving average in nine months.This "death cross" is the name given in the finance world for the moment BTC cross below that level.
The "death cross" is another indicator the BTC's momentum has turned bearish and a further drop in price is expected.
Paul Day, a technical analyst and head of futures and options at Market Securities Dubai Ltd told Bloomberg: "There’s been a definitive shift over the past couple of months after the bubble activity at the end of 2017.
Based on BTC’s 2013 tumble he predicts a 76 percent price plunge from late February highs, which would take Bitcoin to a paltry $2,800, if the downtrend is repeated.
However members of the crypto community are more optimistic with Kevin Murcko, of CoinMetro and forex service FXPIG teling Express.co.uk that BTC is still free-floating, and until the market as a whole becomes more regimented, a stable floor and ceiling won’t exist for any of the assets.
He said: “Corrections have occurred, but it’s important not to think of crypto prices myopically: the price of bitcoin, for example, is today roughly 700 percent of what it was this time last year.
"Long-term, cryptocurrencies remain viable multi-trillion-dollar assets.“
"Increased stability is important for the future of crypto, as well as for overcoming the sector’s perceived reputation for being a poor store of value. Price stability will come from the introduction of more national and harmonised global regulatory oversight."
"This will allow for more institutional involvement, enabling the creation of liquidity by way of synthetic instruments like futures, ETNs, ETFs, etc.
It will also come from the realisation amongst the general public that, like all investments, crypto does carry risk. As with other securities, prices are liable to go up or down.”
Updates below throughout the day....
1.01pm - UPDATE BTC at lunch
Bitcoin has lost $69 on the day so far.
9.53am - UPDATE - Peter Thiel backs bitcoin
Venture capitalist and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel is betting on bitcoin for its size, and the possibility it becomes a gold-like safe haven.
Mr Thiel told the Economic Club of New York: "I would be long bitcoin, and neutral to skeptical of just about everything else at this point with a few possible exceptions.
"There will be one online equivalent to gold, and the one you'd bet on would be the biggest."
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8.25am - UPDATE - Mining no longer profitable
CNBC are reporting that bitcoin has dropped to a point where it's not that profitable to produce, according to some estimates.
Fundstrat's Thomas Lee said in a report Thursday: "Bitcoin currently trades essentially at the break-even cost of mining a bitcoin, currently at $8,038 based on a mining model developed by our data science team."
Fundstrat's model incorporates three factors: the cost of equipment, electricity and other overhead such as maintaining cooling facilities.
However, in the past these fears have been debunked.
Aleksei Antonov, CFO of SONM told Express.co.uk last year that the idea of miners just downing tools and leaving the space is not likely.
He said: "Bitcoin mining is also a market itself. As soon as Bitcoin mining becomes unprofitable, some miners will stop mining it.
"The total Hashrate decreases and for all the miners that remain, mining becomes a little more profitable.
"If bitcoin costs $10, there will be very few miners, but those miners will take the entire reward for the calculated block.
"To summarise, there is no situation when mining becomes unprofitable for everyone at all."