A Major Investment Firm Is About To Inject Over Half A Billion Dollars Into The Bitcoin Market – What This Means

By Nick James – December 1, 2020

Guggenheim Partners is a global investment firm that’s currently hitting the headlines in the crypto society. The firm runs the Macro Opportunities Fund, an investment fund of around $5.3 billion in assets. Apparently, the firm is now planning to invest about 10% of its total funds in Bitcoin. That’s about $530 million.

According to a notice served to the SEC by the firm, Guggenheim Partners will invest the funds through a private investment channel run by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Grayscale is currently the largest investment fund in the world.

No Risks Mentioned

Judging from these developments in the Bitcoin market, it’s safe to say that a lot of people out there still think Bitcoin is a very safe asset to invest in.

In fact, institutional investors have been expected to bring an influx of new money into the market for a while.

However, according to reports, Guggenheim Partners’ notice to the US SEC didn’t mention anything to do with the possible risks associated with crypto investments. The crypto market has been known to be highly volatile.

What It Means

Guggenheim Partners is the latest institutional funds to express interest in Bitcoin. Of late, institutional investors have been flocking into the crypto market. Grayscale alone has been accumulating cryptos, especially Bitcoin, at a very high rate. At one point, Grayscale was buying more Bitcoins than they were being mined in a week.

From a market perspective, the growing interest in Bitcoin by parties that weren’t previously pro-Bitcoin shows that the crypto is finally going mainstream, and major players in the financial markets no longer belittle its global influence. For one, Bitcoin has been on a gaining path for the last few weeks. In fact, a quick look at the BTC trends shows that it has grown by over 140% since the start of the year.

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Nick James and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Venezuelan army starts mining Bitcoin to make ends meet

The Venezuelan army turns to crypto mining as the country's economy collapses.

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            NOV 30, 2020

The regime of Nicolás Maduro continues to lean on crypto to keep economically solvent.

Via Instagram, an engineering brigade of the Venezuelan army inaugurated the new "Digital Assets Production Center of the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela." As the video shows, the center houses various ASIC mining equipment used to crack proof-of-work algorithms.

General Lenin Herrera presented the new mining operation. The stated goal of the mining operation is "strengthening and self-sustainability of our units of the Bolivarian Army," adding later that these mining centers would be generating "unblockable sources of income" and an alternative to the "trust system blocked and controlled by colonialist interests," referring to the United States, a country that has leveled sanctions against many associates of the Maduro regime.

With oil prices crashing and political turmoil taking its toll even before COVID-19, Venezuela has seen historic inflation in recent months.

As Cointelegraph reported in September, Maduro proposed an "Anti-Blocks Law," a legal body that proposes using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and access financing from international allies.

These intentions are not new. The Maduro administration has gone so far as to launch and promote its own cryptocurrency, the Petro, which has seen limited success.

On the flip side, the U.S. military is also closely observing Venezuela's crypto activities. Recently, Admiral Craig Stephen Faller referred to Maduro’s use of crypto and went so far as to link its use to drug trafficking and terrorism, adding that the armed forces were keeping an eye on all such operations.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Ezio Rojas.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Justice Department extradites alleged BTC mining Ponzi operator from Panama

AirBit Club's leadership has been gathered in New York City and will face charges for stealing "membership dues" to finance massive marketing events and lavish personal lifestyles.

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            NOV 30, 2020

Per a Monday announcement, the United States Department of Justice and the Southern District of New York have extradited from Panama a leader of alleged Ponzi scheme AirBit Club.

Gutemberg Dos Santos is one of six operators of AirBit Club indicted, and the last to come into the U.S. to face trial before the SDNY. Dos Santos is a dual citizen of Brazil and the United States. Authorities initially apprehended five of the six back in August, with a sixth avoiding authorities until October.

The DoJ alleges that AirBit Club sold "memberships" that promised guaranteed returns. The six operators marketed their returns as being the product of the club's mining operations and trading strategies. Per the DoJ, those operations didn't exist. Instead, membership dues went to funding further marketing all around the world, including massive events to recruit new members and jet-set lifestyles for themselves.

Some of these events are viewable on AirBit Club's still-active website, with the most recent taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year.

One of the six indicted was Scott Hughes, a California attorney who, the DoJ alleges, aided AirBit Club's leadership "by, among other things, helping to remove negative information about AirBit Club and Vizinova from the internet" — possibly by threatening libel suits to shut down dissent.

Hughes also stands accused of helping the operation launder income via various client accounts.

One of the most famous Ponzi schemes in crypto is PlusToken, which recently saw over $4 billion worth of crypto assets confiscated by the Chinese government.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Kollen Post.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin’s (BTC) Positive Twitter Commentary is Near a 6-Month High

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS   •   NOVEMBER 29, 2020

Quick take:

• Positive twitter comments related to Bitcoin are near a 6-month high
• The last time the sentiment was this high, was during the Bitcoin halving in May
• This is the fourth time Bitcoin’s Twitter sentiment has been at these levels since 2017
• This is despite the recent dip to $16,300 levels
• High Bitcoin sentiment could be another sign of a possible top by BTC

Positive twitter comments with respect to Bitcoin (BTC) are nearing a 6 month high. This is according to data from the team at Santiment who also point out that negative comments have been on a decline. The team also plotted Bitcoin’s price (grey) alongside both positive (green) and negative commentary (red) as seen in the following chart.

Source, Santiment Feed (Click image for larger view)

From the chart above, it can be observed that the last time Bitcoin’s positive Twitter commentary was this high, was during May’s Bitcoin halving event. Back then, investors were very optimistic regarding the long term value of Bitcoin despite the Coronavirus crash of mid-March having happened only a few weeks prior.

4th time Bitcoin’s Positive Twitter Commentary is this High

The team at Santiment further pointed out that this was the fourth time that Bitcoin has had a positive Twitter commentary this high. This is despite the King of Crypto experiencing a 16% dip to the $16,300 area. The team elaborated on this via the following statement and accompanying chart.

Bitcoin has edged up this Saturday, as positive commentary has remained optimistic despite the -15.6% retrace down to $16,370 on Thanksgiving. This is only the 4th time since 2017 that sentiment has swayed this positive.

Source, Santiment Feed (Click image for larger view)

Bitcoin’s Positive Sentiment Could Mean BTC Has Topped

From the above chart, it can be noted that Bitcoin experienced a significant pullback on the last three occasions that its Twitter sentiment was this high. This means that the current high Bitcoin positive sentiment could signal a local top for BTC.

The Fear and Greed index further provides evidence of a possible top as it has been constantly above 80 since the beginning of November. In the same month, the Fear and Greed index has reached 94 on three occasions and is currently at 87.

Investors being optimistic or greedy about Bitcoin is usually a tell-tale sign that it might be time to start taking profits. Evidence of this can be seen a few days ago when several Bitcoin whales sold their bags when BTC hit $19,300 and before the collapse to $16,300.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin Is More Like A ‘Casino Operation’, Says Investment Legend Mark Mobius

By Brenda Ngari – November 28, 2020

Mark Mobius, the founding partner of Mobius Capital Partners, is still bearish on bitcoin.

Speaking with Financial News today, Mobius basically compared investing in bitcoin to a casino operation. He posited that the cryptocurrency’s upsurge is a  “casino operation based on all sorts of rumors and speculation”. The veteran investor further noted that there is no reliable information that can be used to forecast the next move that bitcoin will take as the asset does not follow any particular pattern.

“Trying to predict the price of Bitcoin is a loser’s game.”

Not being able to predict the price of bitcoin falls in line with the notorious volatility that the crypto-asset is known for. In other words, the bitcoin price does whatever it wants. Case in point, back in March, bitcoin nosedived 50% in a single day before quickly recovering in the following months. After the 2020 U.S presidential elections came to a close, bitcoin rallied close to its $20,000 all-time high. The cryptocurrency has since pulled back to the $17,000 level.

Nonetheless, high-net-worth investors, multi-billion-dollar companies, and funds are seemingly not scared of the volatility. In fact, they are jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon without hesitation. Veteran investors Paul Tudor Jones and Stan Druckenmiller have declared hyper bullish stances on the flagship cryptocurrency this year, while companies like Square, MicroStrategy, and Square and other companies dipped their fingers in the bitcoin basket.

Yet, Mobius continues to bash bitcoin. He, in fact, has a track record of throwing shade at the king of cryptos. For instance, he stated back in 2017 that bitcoin is more of a religion rather than a currency.

Last year, Mobius said bitcoin is not yet proven as a safe haven as it is backed by mere faith. He argued that the world instead needs a gold-backed cryptocurrency.

“If there is a cryptocurrency that is really backed by gold and there is a meaningful agreement and some kind of modern thing connection, then this could be quite interesting.”

Doom-and-Gloomers Are Euphoric During Market Pullbacks

As expected, the voices of bitcoin skeptics often become louder during market downturns. Besides Mobius’ comments which come shortly after bitcoin plummeted to $16,300, other bitcoin critics have also dashed in to tell it as they see it.

Just two days ago, bitcoin naysayer Peter Schiff, the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital,  tweeted his usual pessimism about bitcoin, claiming that the bitcoin bubble was about to pop.

Fellow BTC critic Nouriel Roubini also slandered the cryptocurrency in a lengthy Twitter tirade on November 26. Roubini went as far as to say that bitcoin has no fundamental value or utility, further likening it to a “rigged illegal casino”.

“Investing in BTC is equivalent to take your portfolio to a rigged illegal casino & gamble; at least in legit Las Vegas casinos, odds aren’t stacked against you as those gambling markets aren’t manipulated the way BTC is. Instead, BTC is manipulated heavily by Tether & whales.”

The one thing the bellwether cryptocurrency is not short on is detractors.

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin relief rally is underway — Can BTC price reclaim $18K?

Bitcoin price is rallying this weekend but is this just a relief rally or can BTC regain bullish momentum?

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            NOV 03, 2020

Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped severely in the previous week, falling from $19,500 to $16,000. Corrections never occur smoothly as dropdowns are frequently sudden and painful. The recent correction isn’t much different as the drop occurred in a matter of hours.

Since then, Bitcoin’s price consolidated above $16,000, which marked a temporary bottom. The primary question is whether the correction is over or not. A determining factor will be whether or not BTC price can reclaim the crucial levels that will support further upward momentum.

Bitcoin is in the middle of a weekend relief rally

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView (Click image for larger view)

As the daily chart shows, a crucial support area was established around the $16,000 area. Bitcoin’s price did lose the uptrend on lower timeframes, through which a chain reaction of liquidations occurred. This chain reaction made the price accelerate downwards.

Bitcoin’s price frequently takes the staircase up and the elevator down. When this happens, the daily timeframe marks the crucial support levels to hold, through which the zone around $16,000 is a massive area to hold.

The chart shows temporary support and bounces from this area, as Bitcoin’s price is currently $1,400 higher than the support level.

Bitcoin must break $18,000 to regain bullish momentum

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView (Click image for larger view)

The hourly chart shows a clear breakdown from the $18,600 support level, which caused the chain reaction downwards.

However, during this correction, some lower timeframe signals are showing crucial resistance levels starting at the $18,000 level. The price of Bitcoin dropped toward the support zone at $17,200, made a slight bounce upward, but couldn’t break through $18,000.

Through that failure of breaking $18,000, a resistance area is established. This resistance area needs to break to sustain the bullish momentum and then flip back bullish on the lower timeframes.

The next hurdle is found at the $18,600 area, which failed to sustain support in the previous run upward.

Total market cap is ready for more downside

Total market capitalization cryptocurrency 1-day chart. Source: TradingView (Click image for larger view)

The daily chart of the total market capitalization shows an apparent breakdown, as the total market capitalization dropped significantly after reaching the 1.618 Fibonacci level.

However, the bullish part is a new higher high and a breakout above the $400 billion resistance zone.

In this run-up, the massive resistance zone at $400 billion never received confirmation through a retest. In that perspective, it’s very likely to see a further correction towards $400 billion to confirm the previous resistance zone to become support.

What is a likely scenario for Bitcoin?

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView (Click image for larger view)

The most likely scenario would be a relief rally towards the $18,000 to 18,500 area. Through that, the $18,000 to 18,500 area is immediately the crucial breaker of the scenario described.

If the $18,000 to18,500 breaks, a further sustained rally toward new all-time highs is a very likely outcome. However, failing to break through this resistance zone would establish a new range.

This range is acting between $16,000 to 18,000, in which the $18,000 resistance is a confirmation of a new lower high. Lower highs indicate a downward trend, and therefore could the market expect further corrections south.

In that matter, a correction towards $14,000 isn’t unlikely at this point, as that’s the previous high in June 2019 and could warrant a massive support/resistance flip for the markets.

If Bitcoin’s price holds above $14,000, the next rally would most likely bring the price of Bitcoin above a price of $30,000.

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.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Michaël van de Poppe

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Experts say institutions drove Bitcoin’s rise to $19K and alt season is coming

Market analysts are attributing Bitcoin’s sudden surge above $19,000 to aggressive demand from financial institutions and leading companies in the United States.

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            NOV 26, 2020

Analysts are pointing to demand from financial institutions and publicly listed companies as the primary forces behind Bitcoin’s (BTC) sudden retest of its all-time highs.

“The primary reason for the steady grind up in Bitcon has been the increased interest and aggressive buying activity from institutions,” said Nick Cote of gamified trading platform Hxro Labs. “A lot of investors are going through Grayscale.”

Rising institutional demand can be seen in heavy accumulation by Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, with the fund’s BTC holdings exceeding 500,000 earlier this month.

Cote also said that top American companies like Square and Microstrategy are “putting BTC on their books as a hedge against inflation and poor monetary policy management from the central banks.” He described this behavior as driving a “positive feedback loop” in the markets:

“There will be pullbacks of course, but as long as institutions believe in the narrative of Bitcoin being used as a store of value or hedge against inflation, it becomes a positive feedback loop.”

NEM head of trading Nicholas Pelecanos agreed, stating that Bitcoin’s fundamentals are now stronger than ever before, pointing to post-halving supply dynamics, a rise in institutional adoption, and a number of “publicly listed U.S. companies moving 10% of their balance sheet into the asset.”

Pelecanos is now looking to a rise in the altcoin markets, stating, “BTC is back at its all-time high levels, but what is worth noting is the valuation of the altcoins which are on average still 50% below their all-time highs.”

Despite his bullish outlook for alts, Pelecanos warned that many alternative cryptocurrencies have failed to attract meaningful adoption, stating:

“Some altcoins represent projects that are no longer functioning, yet other projects have seen tremendous development on both adoption and tech.”

Analysts have also pointed to bullish signals coming from the mining markets, with Glassnode chief technical officer Rafael Schultze-Kraft noting that miners have hoarded an additional 10,000 BTC since March.

Miners’ revenues also recently posted new year-to-date highs after reclaiming pre-halving levels, with daily revenue exceeding $20 million.

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Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Samuel Haig.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Bitcoin (BTC) is the Most Manipulated Asset Ever – Dr. Doom

John P. Njui   •   BITCOIN (BTC) NEWS • CRYPTOCURRENCY   •   NOVEMBER 26, 2020

Quick take:

• Professor Nouriel Roubini has classified Bitcoin as the most manipulated asset ever
• This is after BTC dropped hard from $19,400 to $16,300
• He explained that retail traders were hoodwinked by whales and ‘shafted as in 2018’
• Timothy Peterson agrees that Bitcoin is manipulated
• According to Professor Roubini, investing in Bitcoin is like taking your portfolio to a rigged casino

Bitcoin’s Dr. Doom, Professor Nouriel Roubini, has once again classified Bitcoin as being ‘the most manipulated asset ever’. His statements regarding Bitcoin were made after the King of Crypto fell from $19,400 to the $16,300 price area in less than 48 hours. According to Prof. Roubini, retail traders were once again lured into the market by manipulative whales in a situation similar to 2018.

13% down. Most manipulated asset ever. As I said the higher it goes the harder it will fall. FOMO-salivating retail suckers hoodwinked by manipulative whales will get shafted as in 2018!

Timothy Peterson, of Cane Island Alternative Advisors, put aside his differences with Professor Roubini, to agree that Bitcoin is indeed manipulated. His comments can be seen in the following Tweet. Mr. Peterson has published a paper on Bitcoin’s price manipulation which is available online for further study.

Bitcoin is Like Taking Your Portfolio to a Rigged Illegal Casino – Dr. Doom

Professor Nouriel Roubini went on to post a twelve-part Twitter thread in which he cautioned retail traders against being duped by manipulative Bitcoin whales.

Bitcoin has no role in institutional or retail investors portfolios. It is not a currency: not an unit of account, not a scalable means of payment & is a highly volatile store of value. It is heavily manipulated: look at the investigation of Bitfinex by US law enforcement.

Key to his argument is that Bitcoin is not a currency and that it is highly manipulated using Tether. Furthermore, Bitcoin is not an asset and has zero intrinsic value. He compared owning Bitcoin to taking your portfolio to a rigged illegal casino.

…Tether is used to manipulate the Bitcoin market. And look at the recent indictment of BitMex and his criminal CEO & gang. It has no intrinsic value, it is not backed by any asset, it is not legal tender, it cannot be used to pay taxes.

[Bitcoin is] Not scalable means of payments. It’s toxic for the environment as POS hogs enormous amounts of energy & pollutes the earth

Bitcoin is not an asset as it has ZERO intrinsic value…So it is a pure speculative manipulated “asset” & bubble with no fundamental value. It is not even an hedge against risk off episodes: every time stocks go down, bitcoin falls much more.

Investing in BTC is equivalent to take your portfolio to a rigged illegal casino & gamble; at least in legit Las Vegas casinos odds aren’t stacked against you as those gambling markets aren’t manipulated the way BTC is. Instead BTC is manipulated heavily by Tether & whales.

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Original article posted on the EthereumWorldNews.com site, by John P. Njui.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Peter Schiff Believes Wealthy Investors And Institutions Won’t Buy Bitcoin When Inflation Finally Kicks In

By Brenda Ngari – November 25, 2020

The past couple of months have been remarkable for the bitcoin markets. The number one cryptocurrency which was trading at $3,800 just the other day, breached $19,000 for the first time since the 2017 bull market.

Despite the extraordinary performance, gold bug Peter Schiff continues to criticize the OG cryptocurrency. This time, the Euro Pacific Capital chief claimed that large investors and institutional clients will not turn to bitcoin once they start worrying about the next big inflation wave.

Institutions Will Choose Gold Over Bitcoin: Peter Schiff

According to Peter Schiff, big-money investors and institutions are still not worried about inflation. This is manifested by the low bond yields. But when they begin to fret, they will purchase gold, not the flagship cryptocurrency.

The crypto-hater goes on to state that bitcoin only attracts small speculators and a handful of asset managers who are taking advantage of the speculators.

He said:

“Large investors and institutions are still not worried about inflation, as evidenced by low bond yields. When they finally start to worry, they will buy #gold, not #Bitcoin. The main buyers of Bitcoin are small speculators and a few fund managers who are taking advantage of them.”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know that Schiff is a serial bitcoin naysayer. He uses every chance he gets to taint bitcoin’s image while calling attention to his precious commodity gold. With his latest tweet, he is sending the message that institutional investors and other large investors don’t view bitcoin as an inflationary hedge.

This is, however, not the case. While gold has long been the first choice as a hedge against inflation, the yellow metal is slowly losing its luster in a digital world. More importantly, bitcoin has totally crushed gold this year in terms of YTD gains. While gold has gained only 24% since the beginning of the year, bitcoin is enjoying blockbuster 172% gains.

Unfortunately for Schiff, Millenials like his son Spencer are increasingly preferring the top cryptocurrency instead.

Peter Schiff’s Son Dismisses His Dad’s Advice And Accumulates BTC

Even though Peter Schiff has over 30 years of investment experience, his son, Spencer Schiff, is not having any of his father’s advice about bitcoin. In early September, Schiff revealed that Spencer had purchased even more bitcoin against his advice. At the time, bitcoin was experiencing a correction around the $10,000 level and it appears that Spencer saw this as a good opportunity to add to his holdings.

Peter Schiff asked the Twitter community whether they would opt for financial advice from a 58-year old veteran like himself or an 18-year college freshman who has never even held a single job. An overwhelming majority of the respondents chose Spencer, not his dad.

Gold pundits like Schiff are often skeptical about bitcoin because the cryptocurrency threatens to take market share away from the yellow alloy, not to mention the coveted title as the preferred store of value. Since bitcoin is only getting started, I fully expect Schiff to find new angles to try to tear down the benchmark cryptocurrency in the near future.

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.

The original article written by Brenda Ngari and posted on ZyCrypto.com.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

US intelligence is looking at Chinese CBDC as a national security threat

The Director of National Intelligence wants to have the SEC’s leader briefed on the dangers of the U.S. falling behind in crypto.

Image courtesy of CoinTelegraph

            NOV 25, 2020

The United States national security apparatus is warning other agencies about China’s upcoming digital currency.

On Wednesday, news outlet the Washington Examiner reported on a letter that National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe had sent Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton earlier in the month.

According to the report, Ratcliffe offered to have staff brief Clayton on the security issues that derive from China’s dominance in crypto mining as well as the country’s progress in digitizing the yuan. Ratcliffe’s letter also apparently pushed Clayton to ensure that U.S. crypto firms remain competitive.

Cointelegraph has reported extensively on the race for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Among major economies, China seems to be closest to launch.

Since Bretton Woods in 1944, the U.S. has enjoyed a privileged status as the issuer of the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. dollar. To this day, almost all international trade is settled in dollars, though that is changing for countries like Russia and China, which are subject to extensive U.S. sanctions.

The dollar’s special status affords the Federal Reserve extra flexibility in printing more dollars without running into hyperinflation, as there is huge demand beyond U.S. shores. It is also this special status that allows U.S. sanctions to be such useful instruments of international influence.

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A successful digital yuan could challenge the status of the dollar in international trade. The flip side, however, is that many see a digital yuan as a tool of surveillance for the Chinese Communist Party. While that might reduce demand, the upgraded access to information may be another factor that Ratcliffe is worried about.

Original article posted on the CoinTelegraph.com site, by Kollen Post.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe