BitDigest May 20 · Issue #662

• Crypto markets unchanged overnight
• Iran looking to curb outflows of currencies into crypto
• Bank of Korea identifies causes for interest in CBDCs

Technical Roundup Analysis

Bitcoin has found new resistance at $9,600 which is now acting as support on lower time frames. Although price is at resistance there is no evidence of rejection. BTC is currently retesting resisting these levels but it is presumed they will be weaker than before. If daily pricing breaks through $10,000 resistance, the next objective would be the double top at $10500. If daily loses weekly support i.e. starts closing below $9500, the next magnet would be daily support at $8590.

Treasury Using Improved but Antiquated Technology for Assistance Payments

One of the takeaways our team has had after speaking with fintech startups is that many fail to accept that the incumbents will attempt to respond to their innovations. This is the same argument we have been making about governments willingness to accept digital currencies without a response. Bitcoin is different, it is decentralized and it functions based on the trust of a code instead of the backing of the military or tax dollars, but the incumbents, whether governments or enterprises are continue to watch it closely and will respond.

That said, news that the Treasury plans to deliver the next round of economic impact payments (EIP) using prepaid debit cards was not what many of us have been hoping for but it makes sense. What was surprising is that the debit cards are being issued by publicly traded South Dakota based MetaBank (NASDAQ: CASH) using the VISA payments network. As I reported yesterday, Visa CEO Alfred Kelly believes digital currencies “could be additive to the to the payments ecosystem as opposed to being any kind of replacement.” He definitely seems to be building his company for the future of payments.

I was just hoping for a more direct and efficient system to deliver the payments – a digital currency replacement.

How Secure is Bitcoin’s Encryption?

Bitcoin uses theSHA-256 algorithm. The “256” refers to the 256 bits or binary digits with the value of 0 or 1 that make up bitcoin’s digital signatures and cryptographic hash functions. To guess what this number is you just need to try making random guesses, but do not waste your time.. 3Blue1Brown published an explanation video showing the math behind this number and explain how large a number the SHA-256 equations actually represent.

Silk Road, A Different Story

I have written a lot about Silk Road and recommended different books and even a couple movies. I just finished another story about the dark web marketplace, but this one was different. Silk Road Take Down tells the story from the point of view of Curtis Green. Known on the platform by the aliases of “Chronicpain” and “Flush,” Green was a middle-aged grandfather living in Spanish Fork, Utah who discovered Silk Road’s messaging boards as he was learning about bitcoin. He eventually became a moderator and administrator on the site. Three months later he received an unrequested package on his doorstep and moments after opening and realizing it was cocaine, agents from multiple federal agencies broke down his door and arrested him. The story he tells is the tale of the arrest, the unwarranted accusation that he stole one million dollars in bitcoin, and his work with the federal agents trying to bring down the Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR). Green is the individual DPR supposedly offered to pay undercover agents to murder and Green goes in great detailing telling how he and the agents crafted pictures to fake his torture and death. He also delves into the story of the secret service agents leading the investigation into Silk Road. At the conclusion we learn that these agents: Carl Force and Shaun Bridges stole funds and received undeclared payments from Silk Road eventually leading to their own charges and imprisonment. This is not a book for someone wanting to understand the origins of Silk Road and the details surrounding the arrest and sentencing of Ross Ulbricht, but it’s still a good story and a quick read.

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