Image of The Day, 18 of December: Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Insider and Others

We're presenting "the image of the day". Bitnewstoday.com has chosen the most important news about the digital economy and virtual currencies. Only the most valuable stories from only the trusted sources. Each and every event from this list will change the world of the digital economy either way. The most important stories of this day in the most indicative quotes are below!

1. OFF WITH THE BITCOIN! (Bloomberg)

Pros are ditching the bitcoin market, JPMorgan says

The prolonged digital-asset slump is scaring off institutional players, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., suggesting a fulcrum for cryptocurrency markets is giving way. “Participation by financial institutions in Bitcoin trading appears to be fading,” analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a research note dated Dec,14. “Key flow metrics have downshifted dramatically,” including in futures markets and in average volumes, they said.

While the surge of institutional interest a year ago was cheered by cryptocurrency enthusiasts as a signal the industry was here to stay, last December’s debut of Bitcoin futures -- a key product for professionals -- also coincided with Bitcoin’s apex. Meanwhile, open interest on Cboe Global Markets has dwindled, and in the past month reached the lowest levels since trading began a year ago. An equivalent gauge for the more widely used contract on CME is near the bottom of 2018’s range, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

2. ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY (CNBC)

Bitcoin jumps 11% on the one-year anniversary of its $19,000 record

Bitcoin staged a minor recovery, finally topping the $3,400 level after weeks of pain. The cryptocurrency has nosedived by more than 80 percent from the all-time high hit exactly a year ago. On December 17, 2017 bitcoin peaked just above $19,475, according to CoinMarketCap.com. It has struggled to come anywhere close to that level since.

“As a relatively new concept, cryptoassets are still finding their feet in terms of value,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro. “It’s important to remember that all assets, in every market, experience a process of price discovery, and that cryptos are no different.

3. TOO DAMN PRICY! (Business Insider)

One year on from Bitcoin's record high, its price has fallen so far it's too costly to mine it

Bitcoin prices have been obliterated over the past 12 months, falling over 80% from December 18 last year. Such has been the scale of the slide, they're becoming increasingly uneconomic to mine given the costs involved.

JP Morgan explains (our emphasis added): “The latest decline in prices towards $3,000 per bitcoin has also seen a sharp decline in the hash rate. This suggests that prices have declined to a point where mining is becoming uneconomical for some miners, who have responded by turning their mining rigs off. What had been striking with the Bitcoin hash rate was that it peaked only recently at the end of October i.e. much later than the peak in Bitcoin prices at the end of 2017. Combined with price declines, the surge in the mining activity in the first ten months of the year, partly driven by chip manufacturers deploying miners to test their products and partly by miners adopting more efficient operations, created a collapse in mining profitability from $4/Day for 1THash/s at the end of 2017 to $0.16 currently. Therefore in the absence of any stabilization in prices, the least efficient miners were forced to exit mining activity abruptly.”

4. RECOVERY OR A FALSE HOPE? (FxStreet)

Bitcoin price prediction: Recovery of a dead-cat bounce?

Bitcoin bulls managed to engineer a strong recovery towards $3,580. The coin gained over 14% from the recent low of $3,140 touched on Saturday, December 15. While the price retraced below $3,500 to trade at $3,491 by press time, the coin is still 8% higher since this time on Monday. A collapse under SMA200 (weekly) proved to be short-lived as new buyers popped in at new lows and saved the game.

Whether it is is a true reversal or a dead cat bounce remains to be seen. Some experts believe, that Bitcoin long-term bulls will capitulate once the price drops under $3,100. As long as we stay above, not all is lost.

5. BELIEVERS (Bloomberg)

Crypto bounce heartens true believers waiting for market bottom

After one of the worst stretches of losses for cryptocurrencies on record, enthusiasts are taking comfort in a recovery in prices of digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether, EOS and Litecoin.

“It seems as though there’s a broad crypto bounce with all main coins up,” David Thomas, director and co-founder at GlobalBlock, said in an email. "It will take a concerted move higher in cryptocurrencies in order to signal an end to the crypto crash. After such a big move lower this year, there comes a point when investors see value in getting back into the market and that seems to be the case today."

6. DAMN QUANTUM-ENABLED HACKERS (Wired)

To save the tamper-proof ledger from quantum-enabled hackers, the two technologies will join forces. If they don't, data is at risk

In the nineteenth century, there was a bitter war between the advocates of two competing forms of electricity – AC and DC – which became a heated rivalry full of misinformation. Today, that conflict has echoes in the fierce debate between advocates of blockchain who believe it is secure, and those who think it could be broken by new quantum computers.

Quantum technology is estimated at being tens of thousands to millions of times faster than current computers – and more power means tasks such as breaking encryption becomes massively easier, potentially exposing financial records, personal data and other sensitive information. In 2016, scientists at MIT and the University of Innsbruck successfully built a quantum computer that they claim could – if successfully scaled up – break RSA encryption, a widely used algorithm that secures everything from text messages to online shopping.

7. LET’S PRETEND! (TechCrunch)

Atari teams up with some startup

Atari teams up with some startup to pretend to make blockchain-based games. Animoca Brands will produce and publish blockchain-based versions of RollerCoaster Tycoon and Goon Squad worldwide (excluding China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau); the new titles will feature the integration of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The term of the Agreement extends through to 31 March 2022.

In honor of this exciting announcement I’d like to propose the following blockchain-based products available for license to those hunting for a quick buck:Blockchain! The Musical, Blockchain Cereal, Blockchain Brand Kombucha, Blockchain & Me, An Alien Adventure, Blockchain Whiskey.

8. HEALTHCARE ON BLOCKCHAIN (CNBC)

McKesson’s Change Healthcare is close to buying blockchain health-tech start-up PokitDok

McKesson’s Change Healthcare is close to buying PokitDok, a company that is best known for being among the first to apply blockchain technology to the health care sector.

Change, a health tech company which is majority-owned by medical distribution giant McKesson, was in late-stage talks to buy start-up on Friday, according to four people familiar with the deal, and is planning announce it later this week assuming the deal closes.

The people declined to be identified as they were not authorized to talk about the deal before its public announcement. The deal could help McKesson get a leg up in blockchain services, a potential growth area. In November, Change teamed up with Tibco to explore using blockchain technology to make health care transactions run more smoothly.

9. YET ANOTHER MEETUP (Times Of India)

Who cares really?

The city will be hosting a two-day Global Blockchain Congress 2018, where experts from across the world will share their views and feelings about this groundbreaking technology and it’s influence.

It might be a big hit due to the size or the Indian market, but it’s more likely that it will be another failure of the spectacular size as many blockchain meetups before. People are tired of the the endless meetups and want to see something real, instead of the non-stop stream of promises and empty words.

10. SCAM PATROL (The Next Web)

Belgian cryptocurrency scam blacklist swells to 113 dodgy domains

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has identified a fresh batch of cryptocurrency scams. It has added a swathe of new sites to its blockchain blacklist, expanding it to 113 dodgy domains. In a special warning to local investors, FSMA declared it prudent for Belgians to keep a serving of moules-frites between themselves and the businesses behind the 14 websites more.

Due to the seemingly endless threat of phony cryptocurrency companies, authorities added examples of common red-flags it feels are helpful for newbie blockchain investors. “The principle remains the same: they offer you an investment they claim is secure, easy and very lucrative,” FSMA warns. “They try to inspire confidence by assuring you that you don’t need to be an expert in cryptocurrencies in order to invest in them.”