Blockchain
Mark Vernon | Tagcash | 2020 Year in Review
Mark Vernon: This 2021, I predict the growth of Bitcoin in treasuries of companies, more stablecoins, more CBDCs, and more regulation.
The post Mark Vernon | Tagcash | 2020 Year in Review appeared first on BitPinas.

January 6, 2021 — Every person you ask will say the same thing: 2020 is unlike any other year.
The cryptocurrency industry felt the full brunt of the pandemic, as evidenced by the March 2020 crash. Nine months, one Bitcoin halving and a couple of institutions later, the industry sees a resurgence in interest brought about by Bitcoin hitting and breaking the psychological all-time high at $20,000 and reaching a new one of $34,000.
Table of Contents.
What is the 2020 Year in Review?
BitPinas sought the opinion of key crypto and blockchain leaders/influencers in the Philippines and abroad on what they think about 2020 in general and what they look forward to in 2019.
Mark Vernon is the Founder of Tagcash and Tagbond. He is also an investor and judge at the Final Pitch. Tagcash is a licensed e-money issuer in the Philippines. Tagcash is a Fintech Super App Platform, where anyone can create mini apps integrating Fintech. Tagbond enables you to create Non Fungible Tokens for gaming and Business, on Ethereum Blockchain.
On product pivot:
We pivoted from being an e-wallet to developing an Application as a Service platform. Right now, my current focus is to expand the business to Europe and Africa.
On important global and local crypto developments:
Locally, Axie Infinity has been a huge success in the Philippines as it demonstrates what NFTs can do. Stories of Filipinos earning a living through Axie Infinity is a pivotal moment that could introduce more people into blockchain and crypto other than through the usual crypto trading education for onboarding.
Globally, we have observed more institutional investors being more involved in cryptocurrencies, particularly in Bitcoin. Companies like MicroStrategy and Square have also put a portion of their reserves into Bitcoin. Square’s $50 million into BTC should now be worth north of $100 million.
Finally, Paypal allowing its customers (in the U.S., for now) to buy and sell cryptocurrency is a huge sign of confidence for the industry.
Operational changes because of the pandemic:
The pandemic has accelerated our business goals, particularly our transition to apps as a service business and incorporating fintech.
2021 predictions:
(Editor’s note: None of this should be treated as investment advice)
Locally, there will be developments surrounding the Peso Stablecoin. If not by a central bank, then maybe other organisations.
Globally, I can see Bitcoin going towards $50,000 (not financial advice) towards the end of 2021. I can also see the first 1 million dollar sale of a non-fungible token.
So yes, growth of Bitcoin in treasuries of companies, more stablecoins, more CBDCs, and more regulation.
Follow Mark Vernon on Linkedin. Check out Tagcash, Tagbond, and Miskio.
This article is published in BitPinas: Mark Vernon |Tagcash | 2020 Year in Review
Source: https://bitpinas.com/feature/mark-vernon-tagcash-2020-year-in-review/
Blockchain
Binance Coin, Dash, Synthetix Price Analysis: 17 January
Binance Coin looked to revisit $38.72 as the price failed to hold up above its present resistance. Dash formed a symmetrical triangle on the charts and presented the possibility of a breakout above $135.69 resistance while SNX reversed course and fell by over 12% after hitting record levels.
Binance Coin [BNB]

Source: BNB/USD, TradingView
Binance Coin retested $41.8 and moved lower as the bulls failed to lift prices towards $44.82 resistance. Prices could revisit the $38.72 support if the fall continues over the next few trading sessions. If the price rises, that would present an upside of $44.82. However, indicators favored the bears and suggested that a move towards immediate support could be a likely outcome.
The MACD was on the verge of a bearish crossover as the signal line eyed a move above the fast-moving line.
The Awesome Oscillator agreed with the MACD and indicated that momentum was shifting towards the bears.
Dash [DASH]

Source: DASH/USD, TradingView
Dash flashed red at press time, as prices traded at $121.84, down by 3.87% in the past 24 hours. A look at the 4hr chart showed that the price had formed a symmetrical triangle, and a breakout could be witnessed over the next few trading sessions. A bullish outcome could see the coin’s trading price rise above its immediate resistance and target a move above the next resistance at $135.69. On the flip side, a downward breakout could see the coin move below support $113.1.
The Stochastic RSI moved in the oversold territory and signaled a potential pullback if the index reverses direction.
The Parabolic SAR’s dotted markers were below the candlesticks and indicated that the price action was in an uptrend.
Synthetix [SNX]

Source: SNX/USD, TradingView
Synthetix hit an all-time high of $17.24 but immediately dropped by over 12% in the last few trading sessions. For now, losses were cut short at $14.63 support, but a fall below the present defense would confirm a bearish pullback.
The Relative Strength Index pointed downwards from the neutral zone. If the index moves into the oversold region, the price could follow suit and drop towards $13.41 support.
The MACD witnessed a bearish crossover as the price fell from record levels. The red bars on the histogram suggested the likelihood of a further pullback in prices.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/binance-coin-dash-synthetix-price-analysis-17-january
Blockchain
Former Ripple CTO may have lost much more than $220M in Bitcoin

David Schwartz, current chief technical officer at Ripple, is responding to reports his predecessor had lost access to hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
In a Quora post on Thursday, Schwartz said recent reports about former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas forgetting the password to an encrypted hard drive containing thousands of Bitcoin (BTC) were true, but added Thomas had also lost access to hundreds of coins when the crypto asset was young.
The Ripple CTO said his predecessor used to test the development of a Javascript library for Bitcoin by using real coins when the price was well under a dollar.
“He would create unspent outputs with ‘1.0’ Bitcoin because that was the fastest and easiest number to type,” said Schwartz. “He likely created hundreds of such accounts, none of which he retained the keys for because they were just for quick experiments. Each of those accounts is worth $38,000 or so today.”
Even just one hundred of these accounts at 100 BTC would mean the coins within are worth more than $3 million. The price of Bitcoin has fluctuated between $30,000 and $40,000 since reaching an all-time of more than $42,000 on Jan. 8.
Last week, a New York Times profile on Thomas said that the German-born programmer has used eight out of ten attempts to guess the password to access an encrypted hard drive containing 7,002 BTC. He has only two guesses left on the IronKey hard drive before the data — and funds — are seemingly lost.
Schwartz confirmed the story on Quora, saying Thomas had put aside the coins, which were part of a payment for creating a video. However, he questioned the $200+ million figure cited by major news outlets:
“I believe today [Thomas’ Bitcoin is] worth about $114 million. I’m not sure where the $240 million number is coming from — maybe I’m remembering wrong.”
There are many similar stories of long lost Bitcoin from early in the coin’s development. Last week, Cointelegraph reported that a student had found private keys to access more than $4 million worth of Bitcoin at his grandfather’s house over the holidays.
Blockchain
Monero Price Analysis: 17 January
Disclaimer: The findings of the following analysis are the sole opinions of the writer and should not be taken as investment advice
The Monero market has been descending over the past couple of days. The overall trend in the market has not been actively bullish, and for Monero the trend has turned to a bearish one. As the price climbed down the price ladder, the market may witness more bearishness.
At the time of writing the price of Monero was $152.24.
Monero daily chart

Source: XMRUSD on TradingView
The Monero chart has been showing that the price has been dropping after it hit the resistance at $170.89. This retracement has been currently testing the support at $151, and the price has been witnessing a strong downward pressure.
As the value of the digital asset continued to see a push and pull at the level, it may force the price to sink further down to the second support at $146. This would be an opportunity for traders to make a profit.
Reasoning
The 50 moving average has already been spiking above the candlesticks highlighting the downtrend of the coin. The RSI has moved closer to the overbought zone from the equilibrium zone, which suggested that the sellers in the market were growing.
Meanwhile, the MACD indicator was noting a rise in bearishness in the market. The strong red bars were growing and have continued in the market for a few days now. Whereas, the MACD line although under the signal line for a couple of days now, was witnessing its gap grow.
Crucial levels
Entry: $151.02
Stop-Loss: $156.78
Take-Profit: $145.10
Risk-to-Reward: 1.03
Conclusion
The current market conditions indicated an increased bearishness in Monero’s price action. As the digital asset trades close to the support, and if it ends up breaching it, the coin’s price is likely to drop to the next level of support at $146 which will, in turn, provide only a minimal profit to the short traders.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/monero-price-analysis-17-january
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Norwegian Block Exchange secures large private investment
-
Blockchain6 days ago
Ethereum Whale Addresses With Over 10,000 ETH Continue to Grow In Numbers, Price Holds Above $1000
-
Blockchain5 days ago
‘Crypto is exactly like dot com bubble; Bitcoin, Ethereum can survive it’
-
Blockchain5 days ago
As Bitcoin Regains Lost Ground, Options Traders Bet on $52K Move By Late January
-
Blockchain5 days ago
Ethereum Price Analysis: 12 January
-
Blockchain6 days ago
Shanghai Government Invests $5M in Blockchain Startup Conflux
-
Blockchain5 days ago
Brian Brooks, Crypto-Friendly OCC Leader, Steps Down
-
Blockchain5 days ago
Coinbase Custody Lists DeFi Project BarnBridge