Image Of The Weekend, 20-21 of October: Daily Hodl, Market Watch, Hacked and Others

We're presenting "image of the weekend". 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 weekend in the most indicative quotes are below!

1. A SERIOUS CONVERSATION (Daily Hodl)

Tom Lee calls Bitcoin breakout

Tom Lee, the head of research and co-founder of the independent research firm Fundstrat, just gave a wide-ranging interview on the state of the cryptocurrency market. While Lee says that there are legitimate criticisms in the crypto space and that there’s the potential for unethical behavior, including exploitation and scams, that doesn’t mean the technology itself is designed solely for that.

Lee also talks about adoption and why doubling the number of users for Bitcoin and the many different cryptos on the market will lead to exponential growth over time. He correlates activity with market performance. As Bitcoin and crypto continue to break through and reach further into the mainstream dialog, positive use cases, along with the ways it can facilitate and improve transactions, are coming to light.

2. A SAFE HAVEN AT THE PACIFIC (Venture Beat)

Bermuda’s pro-crypto government is winning over startups

For many, Bermuda brings to mind palm trees, pink-sand beaches, and the famous business-suit dress shorts for men, but Bermuda has quietly become a safe haven not just for vacations, but for blockchain visionaries.

While the world waits to see what the U.S.’s SEC will decide to do with blockchain ventures, and Asian countries likewise wait for clarity from policymakers, blockchain innovators are finding sanctuary in Bermuda. Thanks to forward-thinking and groundbreaking policy initiatives, Bermuda has become a hot spot for blockchain businesses.

3. RED ALERT (Market Watch)

86% of 2017 ICOs are now in the red, Ernst & Young study finds

In an Oct. 19 report titled “ICOs, The Class of 2017 — one year later” Ernst & Young said in the first six months of 2018, 86% of the leading ICOs that listed on a crypto exchange in 2017 are below their initial listing price. Furthermore, a portfolio of these ICOs is down by 66% since the peak of the market.

A lack of investor due diligence and poor understanding of the nascent, and often disingenuous market, drove ICO valuations to extreme levels, creating a severe case of FOMO (fear of missing out), which eventually popped, the report said. “Despite the past year’s hype around ICOs, there appears to be a significant lack of understanding around the risks and rewards of these investments,” said Paul Brody, Ernst & Young global innovation leader, Blockchain, in the report.

4. WEEKEND REST (Yahoo Finance)

Bitcoin — no weekend rally in sight

An early morning intraday low $6,511 saw Bitcoin avoid a pullback to $6,400 levels and the day’s first major support level at $6,474.97, with a broad based market rally supporting a move through the day’s first major resistance level at $6,606.27 to a late morning intraday high $6,611 before easing back to $6,500 levels.

For the Bitcoin bulls, it was another close shave, with Bitcoin managing to hold on to positive territory through the day, with the broader market also making up ground through the day, sentiment shifting from the negativity mid-week that saw Bitcoin in the red for 3 consecutive days. On the news front, there was no material news to influence the crypto majors through the day, with upward momentum across the cryptomarket seeing Bitcoin’s dominance hover at 53.6% and the crypto total market cap rise to $210.8bn.

5. VOLATILITY AHEAD (Hacked)

Volatility ahead for Bitcoin price

The global cryptocurrency trade volume took a sharp dip on Saturday evening, falling by half a billion in just five hours. The fall from $10.5 billion to $10 billion pushes the global total closer to yearly lows, and could be a sign that volatility is just around the corner — be it for good or bad.

When a market loses trade volume, it becomes very easy to manipulate. This can be seen most easily among various altcoins in the lower ends of the market cap rankings every day. As for Bitcoin, its own trade volumes dropped from $3.7 billion to $3.4 billion. The last time any real volatility hit BTC was when trade volumes dropped below the $3 billion mark. That applies to Monday’s Tether-induced spike; it applies to the 40% spike seen in July of this year, and it also applies to the 15% flash dip that struck in mid June.