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Bitcoin Average Exchange Price For The Week

The price per Bitcoin was no doubt the main news event for the first week of 2017. With it starting out on a dramatic rally from the day 1.

With a high of $967 USD on Sunday of January 1st that then went on to be an almost 5 days streak that took it to a high of $1154 on Thursday 5. But it also then saw it have a hard correction, which you can categorize as a dive, that brought it back to around where the rally started with a low of $959 and a high of $1033 on Friday 6. That almost signaled the price level could reach back to the high of the week. But this was not to be and instead it took another dive to the bottom of the week on Saturday 7 at a low of $831. All in all the first week of 2017 ended with a recover from that bottom to a respectable high of  $940 on Sunday 8.

With the factors affecting the price so wildly being many. You can only really call on the ones that made the price drop. Those in question being among other things: 1.- Profit taking from people that had bought high as far back as December 2013, 2.- Coinbase having issues where they said they could just not keep with the traffic demand on their domain, 3.- BTC-e reportedly having some issues where some users could just not log in or could not execute their trades if they happened to be logged in; 4.- Communication from China’s Government calling out Chinese Bitcoin Exchanges that was badly translated or maliciously interpreted which quickly turned into spooky FUD that gave traders in China pause and made traders not on China somewhat nervous. 5.- Chinese Yuan Stopping its devaluation path for a few days and instead gaining back some ground. With all of that killing the uptrend in the Bitcoin Average Exchange Price.

Having said all this, it is good to put in perspective that even if the price ended up below $1000. Price levels are still around what they were just weeks or so ago.

When it comes to other price specific news: There were a few like:

- All Time High in Euros

- All Time High in Yuan

- Bitcoin MC/NSM for a few brief moments reached $19 Billion USD.

News

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The European Parliament and The Council of the European Union proposed amending a directive related to money laundering and terrorism financing to include in Cryptocurrencies.

To what I only ask: Is anyone surprised of this?

via Lester Coleman at Cryptocoinnews

Bitpagos raised $1.9M USD out an intended $2.3M USD mark via Angelist. Rebrands as Ripio

The plan being to further span across Latin America and even aim to enter into Mexico.

When asked about the rebrand, the reason given was that they wanted a brand that fit with their desire to offer many services to all kinds of users and not just B2B payment processing for Merchants.  This answer being important since in the Bitcoin space rebrands during 2016 got associated with either the startup pivoting off being a Bitcoin Startup into a more run of the mill Fintech startup or integrating altcoins.

Right now all pointing out to just an understandable rebrand instead. While continuing to have Bitcoin as its core focus.

via Stan Higgins at Coindesk

Microsoft will add Bitcoin support to Excel 2017 in a future Office 365 update

Also fully describing Bitcoin as Currency, the upcoming 2017 update will allow Excel to be able to recognize, format, calculate and analyze numbers expressed in Bitcoin currency. The new feature will be available for Excel running under Windows 10, Android, Mac OS and iOS, and will include Excel Mobile versions as well. This as stated by Martin Butler, an Account Executive at Microsoft. While this news stems from 22 of December post. It was not until this week that the news caught up attention.

via Martin Butler from a LinkedIn Pulse Post

Bitcoin banned in Colombia?

In my opinion, it is unclear that’s the case. Likely it is not so officially as that would need to be explicitly stated as so by the Bank of Colombia or a high rank government official. What can be argued is that it just became a grayer currency in Colombia. All because of scams perpetrated that used Bitcoin as part of pyramidal scams called “investments clubs’' that have brought the attention of the Colombian Government. Which only stated as much as saying that the only legal tender in Colombia is the Colombian Peso. 

via Evander Smart at Bitconnect.co

Jeffrey K Berns Files Second Motion to Oppose IRS Investigating Coinbase Users

In the news saga that is Coinbase vs the IRS desire to get all of Coinbase’s USA based users data for 3 years in Bulk without any regards of privacy in one go. It is now known that Coinbase is fighting it. But there is a USA based Coinbase user fighting the IRS on it on his own. Normally that would be quite a risky thing to do. But in Jeffrey K Berns it is not just the right to do. But also kind of what he does anyway. Since he happens to be a Well leveled Lawyer fond on fighting branches of the USA government in court. However, it is clear it helps a lot if he happens to be clearly in the right like it is in this case. So much so, that his first motion drew a direct response from the IRS which pretty much exempted him from the whole deal with Coinbase. Jeffrey Berns now argues that his point was not to save himself, but to not let the IRS be unfair. Meaning he will continue to fight them on. While there is no clear sign he can win. It is a commendable stand to take from him. Let’s hope it helps out.

Via JP Buntix at The Merkle

Bitcoin turned 8 Years Old

As of January 3 of 2017, The Bitcoin Network got to 8 years of running non-stop for everyone and everywhere.

PBOC statement that was taken out of context, turned in to FUD and helped kill Bitcoin Average Exchange Price fast uptrend during the week resulted in much ado to nothing

The only clear things that the People’s Bank Of China said were: 1.- that Bitcoin is no legal tender in China, 2.- Bitcoin is volatile, 3.- Chinese exchanges must have strong  KYC/AML practices; 4.- Chinese Exchanges should not fake volume. 

Via JP Buntix at The Merkle

A new Bitcoin focused documentary movie by Gravitas Ventures called Banking on Bitcoin debuted on iTunes and Vudu.

I have now watched it. It is good enough for all kind of Bitcoiners. Really good for those that aren’t just like it is the case with past Bitcoin focused Documentaries. It basically recalls Bitcoin History while mostly trawling around late 2013 to late 2015. Done in a similar way to how it was done by The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin.  It almost works as an unintended sequel of sorts.

The movie will also be available later on Google Play and Amazon Video.

Link: Banking on Bitcoin

Brian Armstrong now wants SegWit to be activated. Finally clarifying his position on the matter

As the CEO of Coinbase. Brian Armstrong opinion on everything Bitcoin carries public perception weight whether anyone likes it or not.

It now appears that after Charlie Lee has been advocating for the activation of SegWit on Twitter all week. Brian Armstrong has felt confident enough to declare his support for the idea.

From learning more about SegWit I think we should activate it. It's prob the best path forward for bitcoin at this point. https://t.co/oNLSYcf3vn

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 6, 2017

/r/Bitcoin reached 200,000 subscribed members.

Around the same time one of the posts in /r/Bitcoin reached up /all/ and The Reddit frontpage. Making it so that /r/Bitcoin at one point had over 7000 people logged at the same time into the subreddit. Probably also a new record.

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Articles

Bitcoin Adoption Accelerating In Mexico?

I say yes and so does Bitso, which is now apparently the #1 Bitcoin Exchange in Mexico. Localbitcoins and paxful usage in Mexico has also grown and in general there are now more ways to use Bitcoin in Mexico. Some do require bridging services though.

It does makes sense for Bitcoin usage in Mexico to be growing faster. Specially now that everyone in Mexico has the burden of some really harsh mandated price increases without clear reason and transparent disregard for most Mexicans well being. Which happens to be the case of the sudden 20% price increase in GAS that came in effect on January 1st of 2017. One that will assure inflation for the year on most goods, many services and transport to also go over 20%. Add to that that some Mexicans in the USA are always looking for better remittance options. Bitcoin usage in Mexico increasing is a sensible development.

via Luke Parker at BraveNewCoin.

ValueShuffle : A new way to mix Bitcoins and hide the amounts involved in the process.

Interesting first look at all about it by Aaron van Wirdum at Bitcoin Magazine

LocalBitcoins volume grew 85% during 2016, Why is that important

As reported from coin.dance numbers.

Is the case that Kyle Torpey makes over at News.Bitcoin.com

Bitcoin usage is growing on Indonesia

This according to Indonesia’s biggest Bitcoin Exchange.

via Kevin Helms at News.Bitcoin.com

Novelties & Humor

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BAEP CATS

Back in 2013 when the price per Bitcoin first reached $100 USD. I started posting excited cat photos with the price highlights.  Something I have kept going when I feel it makes sense to do so. I call them BAEP Cats.  When Bitcoin got up to $1000 and $1100 again. I released new BAEP Cats for those two occasions. Here they are:

Bitflyer did a series of Bitcoin Video Ads and put one on Yahoo Japan Homepage.

I liked them. Here is one:

LineRider Bitcoin Technical Analysis

Seems legit.

During the BAEP rally this week. /r/Bitcoin got a bit out of control.

ThePiachu, one of /r/Bitcoin Admins highlighted the madness by…posting this photo to /r/Bitcoin. I mean, makes sense right?

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That is all for this week.

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