Bitcoin price held steady above $5000 April 9 but one trader remained cautious about trusting the cryptocurrency's bull run would continue.

'NO MAGIC PRICE' FOR ENDING BEAR MARKET

In a tweet Monday, veteran trading guru Tone Vays warned that even though Bitcoin price $5237.21 +0.89% had managed to maintain support at $5000, its trajectory was more important.

He wrote:

There is NO magic price that turns a bear trend to a bull trend, it's about how $BTCUSD gets to a price. 

Bitcoin delivered its most successful seven days in more than a year last week, jumping from near $4100 to more than $5300. Trade volumes and network activity increased accordingly as BTC price capped a 7-week winning streak, the longest since its all-time highs in late 2017. 

At the time, many expected the rise to be short lived, but as of press time, Bitcoin price remains hovering around $5200, having traded within a narrow $100 range over the past 24 hours.

Despite that stability, however, Vays implied a sudden price explosion does not form a firm foundation for longer-term strength. That argument had also appeared before, however, during the 2017 bull run that saw Bitcoin price shoot to nearly $20,000.

In December, meanwhile, Vays had warned Bitcoin could end its bear market only when price had hit $3000 or even lower – around $1300 or the all-time high seen during the previous bull cycle in 2013.

In the event, BTC/USD neared $3100 before reversing through the first quarter of 2019.

"I can see a scenario where I say: 'I was wrong, (Bitcoin) did bottom at $3k, now that we are at $8k,' Vays explained about his current perspective.

But I can also say: 'I know (Bitcoin) is $10k, but I don't think we bottomed.'

CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

Vays has traditionally held more conservative outlook on Bitcoin's price health, contrasting with others who remain buoyant about a return to higher levels as soon as Q2 this year.

As Bitcoinist reported, venture capital fund Pantera Capital joined the latter group late last month, releasing a prognosis centering around the 2020 Bitcoin block reward halving as a definitive event for the price of bitcoin.

Far ahead of the halving itself, however, executives forecast a knock-effect catalyzing price growth. Based on previous halving data, they argued, bitcoin price could begin reacting this June.

More bullish still is Tim Draper, the increasingly infamous Bitcoin champion who had stuck to his mid-term forecast for BTC price hitting as much as $250,000. By 2021, Draper more recently said, "everyone" would be using the cryptocurrency for micropayments such as coffee purchases.

Bitcoin price breaking $5,000 has everyone and their mum scrambling around to work out what might have caused it. Let's take a look at some of the key contenders (Brexit included), before settling this once and for all.

BECAUSE… APRIL FOOLS JOKE?

One of the first suggestions to hit crypto-Twitter can be blamed on the breakout's unfortunate timing. Yep, Bloomberg and The Telegraph even went as far as reporting that the whole thing could be down to an April Fools joke. The joke in question? A spoof article on Finance Magnates, claiming that the SEC had approved two Bitcoin ETFs in an emergency Sunday night meeting.

There are two problems with the theory: Firstly, Finance Magnates. Fair play to FM for the gag (it was certainly one of the most creative in the crypto-space this year). However, the idea that the whole crypto-verse read that article, and despite nobody else reporting the story, decided to buy, buy, buy… Nah.

Secondly, it didn't actually happen on April 1st; or at least not before midday, wherever in the world you are. By that time the article had been updated to include very obvious [April Fools] spoilers.

BECAUSE… BREXIT?

Now, we're being led to believe that Brexit might be to blame… bless the Dutch. The idea behind this theory is that, due to the uncertainty over Brexit, Brits are following the example of Venezuela and going all in on Bitcoin.

Plausible? Of course not; whilst the fate of the UK (and the pound) is uncertain, it isn't in the same league as some South American economies. And of course, there's an easy way to check; as the UK (and only the UK), uses pounds sterling, we can see if the flow of pounds into bitcoin is even visible on this chart. [spoiler alert: it isn't]

The consensus, of course, is wrong. I have privately suggested that the start of the thaw occurred when I said it did, and this latest spike is just an acceleration of that. But that was based on 15-month highs in volume, and we all know we can't trust volume anymore.

THE REAL REASON

In truth, Samson Mow came closest, with his tongue-in-cheek tweet that the price spike "was caused by more people buying and holding."

So if you want a definitive answer, here it is. The bitcoin price broke out because there wasn't enough supply to meet the demand at a lower price. In fact, considerable support built up at sub-$4k price levels. Then, as price broke through key resistance, demand increased further (possibly through a little FOMO), and there still wasn't enough supply to fulfill what turned into panic buying.

Is that enough to break the bear market. We'll have to wait and see. But that's why the price went up… and if you were expecting something more than that, you probably believed that it was the April Fools joke.

According to personal finance firm Credit Karma Tax, filers who reported short-term capital losses for cryptocurrencies in the first month of 2019 jumped fivefold year-over-year. After the incredibly bearish crypto markets of 2018, data from early tax filers highlights the fact that more investors are claiming losses this tax season. However, a survey the company recorded back in November found that the number of people deciding not to file crypto taxes has increased.

Last April, as tax season approached, news.Bitcoin.com reported on how many cryptocurrency holders didn't really care. At the time, the general manager of Credit Karma Tax, Jagjit Chawla, explained that out of 250,000 cryptocurrency holders, less than 100 people (0.0004%) reported their gains to the IRS. The tax season in 2019, however, has seen an increase of individuals reporting short-term capital losses. Sharing the data with our newsdesk, the company said that filers who reported short-term capital losses for bitcoin in the first month of 2019 jumped 521 percent in comparison to the first month of 2018. Moreover, short-term BTC losses averaged $3,405, which is a 322 percent increase since last year's tax season.

"Short-term bitcoin gains declined during the first month of the 2019 filing season, with a net 7% decrease in the average amount of gains," the report reads. "However, 33% more early filers reported short-term gains year-over-year." The document's author notes:

Investors with long-term gains are the winners so far this tax season, with early filers reporting an average gain of $15,352 during the first month of the 2019 filing season — up 103% from the same period last year.

Out of 1,000 bitcoin investors, 47 percent of respondents stated they did not plan on reporting crypto gains or losses.

Despite Increase in Short-Term Filings, Survey Reveals 47% of U.S. Investors Still Plan to Skip Paying Crypto Taxes

The methodology Credit Karma Tax used stems from data from members who filed their 2018 federal income taxes with the company between January 28 and February 22, 2019. This is in comparison to tax filers who submitted their 2017 taxes with the firm between January 29 and February 22, 2018. So year after year, data shows that people are claiming gains and losses more so than 2018 and 2017. However, the amount of people paying taxes on crypto assets is still incredibly small compared to the number of investors. In November of 2017, a Lendedu survey of 1,000 U.S. residents showed that 35.87 percent of the survey participants responded, "No, I do not plan on reporting gains or losses on my tax return."

The data from Credit Karma Tax published on April 3 reveals that these numbers could be climbing higher. In November 2018, the company surveyed 1,000 bitcoin investors aged 18 and older and discovered 47 percent of U.S. based investors did not plan on reporting crypto gains or losses. "More than a third of those surveyed were unaware they could be required to report the same on their tax returns," the firm's report reveals. Last year a few bitcoin proponents got extremely salty with the previous year's survey which showed lots of crypto holders were not paying taxes, so the increase last year may infuriate them.

Many crypto investors despise taxation and believe that bitcoin was meant to be used as a tool to protest such acts.

In fact, for many people in the bitcoin world, the idea of crypto and taxes is like mixing oil with water. Only recently, bitcoiners have been discussing how crypto taxation is actually the biggest hindrance to digital currency adoption. So the steady increase of bitcoin holders that do not plan to report losses and gains to the IRS suggests that people may be thinking twice about paying into a blatantly corrupt and immoral system.

There's a new open source bitcoin cash (BCH) wallet called Crescent Cash which uses the Cash Accounts protocol by default. The new application was designed by the programmer Pokkst who built the wallet for simplicity by allowing BCH users to send funds to a specific username as opposed to a long alphanumeric address.

On Monday, April 1, the programmer behind the recently published Bchgallery wallet released a new wallet called Crescent Cash, a light client dedicated to the Cash Accounts username system. Crescent Cash is open source and noncustodial like traditional BCH wallets and the application also supports the standard BCH address format Cashaddr. The application's first release for Android is available on the Google Play store and Pokkst believes the wallet is simple and secure while combining the "simplicity of traditional, centralized money apps with the security of trustless Bitcoin wallets." Pokkst explained on the Reddit forum r/btc that he spent a few sleepless nights powered by soda while he was coding up the application for release.

The app, which is only 6.5 megabytes in size, takes just a minute to download and roughly another minute to create a new wallet. The Crescent Cash wallet creates a Cash Accounts username after you choose the handle you desire. After deciding on a username, the application registers the new name with the Cash Accounts system. Users can immediately see that the name was broadcast into the Bitcoin Cash blockchain after the wallet has been created on Crescent Cash. While testing the application's functionality, I registered the name 'Jamiecrypto' with the Crescent Cash app. While the transaction is unconfirmed it doesn't have an associated number. Following confirmation, the registered name 'Jamiecrypto#12871' was filed into the BCH chain for the rest of time.

Pressing the info tab reveals the wallet's private key and Pokkst plans to add a warning to this section and other improvements to Crescent Cash v1.1.0.

To send BCH to another Cash Accounts user, simply type their username into the address field which also supports a standard address and QR code scanning abilities. With Crescent Cash, the wallet's private key is stored on the device and the app's website notes that the wallet provider has no access to recovery seeds. Because Crescent Cash is a very basic wallet with the bare minimum functions, the user has to open the settings section within the wallet in order to jot down the mnemonic seed phrase. The application also provides an xpub address that can be used for other compatible wallet applications. It's important to write down the mnemonic seed phrase because like unlike other wallets the client does not make you verify that it is correct.

The Crescent Cash wallet is fairly intuitive, even for people just getting into the cryptocurrency space. The client with the predominately green and white design is very similar to Ifwallet and Yenom wallet's simplicity. Right now the Cash Accounts protocol designed by Jonathan Silverblood is still very new and the system needs more time to catch on. However, Crescent Cash is the third wallet to implement Silverblood's Cash Accounts protocol following Bchgallery and the Chinese BCH light client Ifwallet. Many of the new BCH-fueled ideas like the Simple Ledger Protocol and others are still nascent concepts and it will take time for them to make a lasting impression. The noncustodial Crescent Cash wallet is helping bolster the idea of more simplistic usernames within the crypto ecosystem. Pokkst has detailed that the next release, Crescent Cash v1.1.0, is already in the works with "a lot of improvements."

Tuesday, April 2 — Bitcoin (BTC) has pushed over $4,500 for the first time this year, while top crypto markets are solidly in the green for the second day in a row, some seeing major 24-hour growth.

The price of BTC skyrocketed, gaining more than 14 percent in the space of one hour early Tuesday. Hovering around $4,650 at press time, the coin peaked at $4,849 early on April 2, according to CoinMarketCap stats, before dropping slightly and trading sideways to press time.

In comparison to yesterday's charts, when BTC's price was hovering around $4,100, the market capitalization of the world's top coin has gained almost $10 billion, totalling $82 billion by press time.

BTC is currently up about 13 percent over the past 24-hours.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, is also solidly in the green, seeing about 6 percent in gains on the day. The coin is now trading at $150 in comparison to yesterday's $140, while its market cap is over $15.8 billion at press time.

Ripple (XRP), currently the world's third largest cryptocurrency, is also up 6 percent today, trading around $0.33 by press time. The coin's market cap has gained about $900 million within a day, reaching $13.8 billion at the peak earlier today.

The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has significantly increased during the sudden market surge today. While yesterday's highest point was at $146 billion, today's peak was at $163 billion, declining to $159.4 billion at press time.

As for other altcoins, all top 20 currencies except Tezos (XTZ), ranked 19th and down 4.4 percent, are currently in the green, with many seeing double digit growth on the day. Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), Tron (TRX) and Monero (XMR) have seen the most significant gains today, all growing over 10 percent, while other altcoins are up 5 to 10 percent to press time.

At the same time, Tether (USDT), the fiat-pegged stablecoin with the highest trade volume, has recently hit an all-time high by the number of daily transactions, according to blockchain data provider Coin Metrics.

As BTC's price surged this morning, the industry is discussing a prediction made by crypto trader and investor Josh Rager of TokenBacon. In a tweet from Rager on March 31, he stated that the next BTC cycle should peak at $150,000 by 2023. Some are sceptical about the optimistic forecast, while others recall even more optimistic outlooks on BTC hitting $200,000 and more in the future.

In other crypto industry news, major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has recently expanded into cross-border payments. Its customers can now transfer funds to any user with a Coinbase account around the world using XRP and the exchange's stablecoin, USDCoin (USDC), with no fee.

Meanwhile, a recent report published by SwissBanking claims that the fintech sector in Switzerland, including distributed ledger technology firms and crypto-related businesses,  continues to grow, while traditional financial institutions are stagnating.

The Supreme Court of India has reportedly given the Indian government four weeks to come up with cryptocurrency regulations before making its ruling on pending crypto cases. The court was set to hear the petitions against the crypto banking ban by the central bank this week.

Government Given a Deadline

The Indian supreme court reportedly addressed the matter regarding cryptocurrency today, Feb. 25. According to Twitter account Crypto Kanoon, a platform for blockchain regulatory news and analysis, the court gave the government four weeks to come up with a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. After that time, the court will make a decision on the crypto banking ban by the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Crypto Kanoon tweeted:

Supreme Court has granted 4 weeks to Indian government as the final opportunity to bring about a policy (rules and regulations) on cryptocurrencies.

he last time the supreme court addressed the crypto case was on Jan. 17 when it decided to hear the petitions against the RBI ban in the last week of this month. In its circular dated April 6 last year, the central bank banned financial institutions under its control from providing services to crypto businesses.

One of the petitioners, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), requested for the RBI ban to be lifted. The IAMAI is an industry body whose members include a number of local crypto exchanges. The association argued that the ban is unconstitutional. It also pointed out to the court that some crypto businesses have suffered because of this banking restriction. Zebpay, for example, shut down its Indian crypto exchange operations due to the banking problem.

Crypto Regulation in India

The government of India has been working on the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The finance ministry set up a panel, headed by Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary of Economic Affairs, to draft the regulation.

The recommendations by this panel are reportedly being finalized. However, there have been conflicting reports about what they entail. In January, the Ministry of Finance invited reputed law firm Nishith Desai Associates to present its proposals for the country's crypto regulation. Furthermore, the ministry told Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament, at the end of last year that "It is difficult to state a specific timeline to come up with clear recommendations" as it "is pursuing the matter with due caution."

As the situation in Venezuela intensifies, a local bitcoin user details how he and his family use the cryptocurrency to survive the country's ongoing crisis. Keeping all of his money in bitcoin, he only exchanges small amounts into the hyperinflating bolivar when necessary.

Bitcoin Not Bolivar

Carlos Hernández, a Venezuelan living in Ciudad Guayana, told his story in The New York Times on Saturday about how bitcoin is saving his family throughout the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. Citing the bolivar's daily inflation rate of around 3.5 percent, he wrote:

I don't own bolívars, Venezuela's official currency. I keep all of my money in bitcoin. Keeping it in bolívars would be financial suicide.

He explained that he does not have a bank account abroad and "With Venezuela's currency controls, there's no easy way for me to use a conventional foreign currency like American dollars."

Hernández revealed that cryptocurrency has enabled him to cover his household expenses on his own, noting that his father, a government employee, earns $6 a month and his stay-at-home mom has no income.

His brother also relies on cryptocurrency. Juan, a 28-year-old lawyer, became a freelancer because "in times of hyperinflation, everyone is constantly getting poorer, including a lawyer's clients," Hernández detailed. He added that his brother "had to turn to cryptocurrencies to get paid" because he could not use Paypal, a common way for websites to pay freelancers, due to "exchange controls here allow[ing] Venezuelan banks to use only local currency." Moreover, cryptocurrency helped Juan avoid his money being seized at the borders when he tried to move to Colombia. "Venezuelan military personnel at the borders have a reputation for seizing the money of people who want to leave," Hernández exclaimed. Overall, he concluded:

You could say that cryptocurrencies have saved our family.

Converting Crypto Into Bolivars

In order to buy everyday necessities such as milk, Hernández explained that cryptocurrencies must be converted into bolivars. He uses Localbitcoins to find buyers who use the same bank he does so "the wire transfer can go through immediately," he said, elaborating:

I can't change too many bitcoins at once, though. The government doesn't monitor cryptocurrency transactions (yet), but it does monitor transactions in bolívars — and any worth about $50 or more will automatically freeze your account until you can explain to your bank where the funds come from.

Localbitcoins has been a popular platform for Venezuelans. The trading volume on the exchange has been steadily rising, hitting a record high of 2,487 BTC for the week ending Feb. 9 before settling at 1,939 BTC last week.

Another international exchange platform, Paxful, told news.Bitcoin.com last week that it also saw record volume in Venezuela, which increased 74.66 percent compared to last year. In addition, the number of trades on the platform increased by 118 percent to an average of 61,534 transactions monthly.

Recently the government of Nicolas Maduro published decrees to regulate crypto activities in Venezuela, including taxing remittances.

Charities Using Bitcoin

Like Hernández, charities in Venezuela have also been able to benefit from bitcoin's borderless nature. One such charity is Bitcoin Venezuela, a nonprofit organization that uses bitcoin to raise funds to aid Venezuelans while offering education in basic economics.

For Venezuela's International Children's Day last year, the nonprofit's humanitarian aid project collected bitcoin donations from Paxful and others. It then gave food to a soup kitchen that feeds 1,500 people daily, two orphanages, and distributed hundreds of meals to people on the street.

On Feb. 10, Eatbch, a Venezuelan nonprofit food drive powered by bitcoin cash, celebrated its one-year anniversary. Within a few months of launch, the charity was "giving thousands of meals each week in 23 locations in 6 states of the country," its co-founder described.