Crypto Today: Bitcoin bulls in a strong position for $8000 reclaim

Here's what you need to know on Monday

Markets

BTC/USD is currently trading at $7720 (+0.25%), has been able to make itself comfortable above $7500, which does serve the price well for further moves north. 

ETH/USD is currently trading at $190 (-1.25%), the next major target for the bulls will be eyed at $0.2000. 

XRP/USD is currently trading at $0.1950 (-0.50%), a break above $0.2000 is critical for greater upside pressure.

Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are STEEM $0.239574 (+47.80%), HIVE $0.0841603 (+34.85%) SC $0.067567 (+17.15%) The day's losers are DGB $0.013214 (-13.92%), ENJ $0.140223 (-7.55%), DASH $82.57 (-4.60%).

Chart of the day: BTC/USD daily chart (Price action is running towards its seventh consecutive session in the green, extending higher out from a bullish flag pattern)

Market

Ripple says its yearly Swell conference, which was set to take place in London, will be switched to a virtual conference. Ripple is also working to engage with developers digitally, as it can no longer hold hackathons and meetups in person. The organisation’s Xpring, which partners with and invests in companies that use decentralized technologies, is reaching out to XRP engineers who are building products on the XRP Ledger. The company says it’s looking to feature XRP-related projects in a new Developer Reflections series.

Regulation

The U.S. state of Kentucky has decided to move ahead with a legislative effort that seeks to create a working group focused on blockchain technology. This, according to the Kentucky General Assembly website. In the latest regulatory push for distributed ledger technology (DLT), Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, has signed a legislative bill to create a blockchain working group in the state. Per sources close to the matter, Beshear approved the bill on April 24, 2020.

Industry 

Cryptocurrency miners relying on the Bitmain S17 and T17 Antminer have said that the rigs have failure rates between 20-30% where they would normally be roughly 5%. According to an April 26 tweet from Samson Mow, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of blockchain infrastructure firm Blockstream, Bitcoin (BTC) miners using rigs from the world’s largest manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining equipment have been reporting technical issues.  Heat sinks on the Antminer S17 and T17 rigs have been falling off, causing the machines to short out. In addition, users have reported problems with the power supply fans on the S17.  Both pieces of equipment are designed to regulate the heat generated by the mining gear. As a result, nearly a third have been shorted out by the reported problems.

Switzerland’s “crypto valley”, a fintech friendly region near Zurich, is seeking a 100 million Swiss franc ($102.7 million) fund from the federal government. This fund is allocated to bail out the troubled fintech companies, according to a Bloomberg April 26 report.  Cantonal Finance Director, Heinz Taennler, said that the fund would consist of private investments, contributions from local governments, and federal guarantees.  

Quote of the day

I keep hearing certain people say that everyone should put 1% of their networth into bitcoin as a hedge 

I'm always surprised you can advise people to take such a high risk gamble with the other 99%

@JosephTodaro_