Bitcoin in the News : 2018-06 Price

So much for simple-minded technical analysis. A month ago, in Bitcoin in the News : 2018-05 Price, I wrote,

Odd numbered month down, even numbered month up? That was the trend in last month's Bitcoin in the News : 2018-04 Price, which continued in the month of May. A handful of months does not make a trend, but it does make a lead paragraph.

The month of June was even numbered, but there weren't even a handful of days that could be considered up. Abandon hope all ye who have entered here?

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Index

Sharp-eyed visitors to this page might have noticed that the date of this post is the last Saturday of June, rather than the first Saturday of July, which would be the normal day for posting this. The reason for this is almost the same reason for ending the post right here.

Bitcoin in the News : 2018-05 More++

After the single-source news analysis in my previous post, Bitcoin in the News : 2018-05 Price, I had plenty of other stories from May to choose from. This first one was the most interesting, probably because I like writing 'Top Myths' stories myself:-

• 2018-05-03: Top Bitcoin Myths (investopedia.com)

The piece listed five myths and their refutations. Here are the bullets:-

1. Digital Currencies Are Primarily Used for Illicit Activity
2. Digital Currencies Don't Have Value
3. Cryptocurrencies Aren't Secure
4. Digital Currencies Are Bad for the Environment
5. Cryptocurrencies Are a Scam

As I was working my way through other stories from May, I realized that the 'myths' might not be myths at all. They are more like controversies. Following is one story confirming each of the five myths:-

1. Illicit Activity • 2018-05-23: Kidnappers snatch a 13-year-old South African boy and demand his ransom be paid in bitcoins (cnn.com)
2. Don't Have Value • 2018-05-01: Warren Buffett explains one thing people still don't understand about bitcoin (cnbc.com; 'Bitcoin isn't an investment')
3. Aren't Secure • 2018-05-29: Bitcoin Gold Suffers Rare '51% Attack' (fortune.com)
4. Bad for the Environment • 2018-05-29: Bitcoin backlash as ‘miners’ suck up electricity, stress power grids in Central Washington (seattletimes.com)
5. Are a Scam • 2018-05-24: Bitcoin Price Manipulation Probe Launched By Justice Department (bloomberg.com)

The difference between a myth and a controversy is like the difference between a fact and an opinion. Here are three more opinions from knowledgeable financial experts who have made correct calls many times in the past:-

• 2018-05-03: Nouriel Roubini says bitcoin is ‘bulls–t’ and only attracts ‘suckers’ (marketwatch.com)
• 2018-05-08: Warren Buffett says bitcoin is 'probably rat poison squared' (cnbc.com)
• 2018-05-21: Bitcoin could be another failed currency, Robert Shiller says (cnbc.com)

Compare these people with those who are trying to explode the 'myths'. What are their respective track records?

Bitcoin in the News : 2018-05 Price

Odd numbered month down, even numbered month up? That was the trend in last month's Bitcoin in the News : 2018-04 Price, which continued in the month of May. A handful of months does not make a trend, but it does make a lead paragraph.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Index

As for the other stalwart of these monthly '20YY-MM Price' posts, Cointelegraph's Analysis category (note that the title of the page has changed for the second time in two months), had 18 stories in May. Last month I tried to categorize the category:-

That makes a total of five dimensions for classifying cryptocurrency discussions. I'll see how this holds up in May.

Here is my tentative classification of the 18 stories for May.

Geographic:

• 2018-05-01: Banks And Cryptocurrencies Global Evaluation: Americas
• 2018-05-15: Despite Ongoing Probes, ICO Legalization in the Cards in South Korea
• 2018-05-24: Poland Continues Its Aggression Towards Crypto, But the Community Shows Force
• 2018-05-29: Iran: Crypto Adoption or Rejection?

Regulatory:

• 2018-05-05: “It Never Was a Security”: Ethereum Under The Regulatory Spotlight
• 2018-05-17: Cases Of Illegal Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Mining: Chicken Farms And New York
• 2018-05-26: SEC, CFTC, IRS And Others: A Guide To US Regulating Bodies

Predictive:

• 2018-05-11: Financial Institutions In A Race: Who Will Bring Crypto Trading To The Fiat Masses First?
• 2018-05-25: Bitcoin’s Falling Price Nothing More Than Perception, Or Is There Manipulation?

Coin-specific: I called this 'Specific' in May, but the title is so vague that I kept referring to the previous post to remind me what it meant.

• 2018-05-03: How To Diversify Away Risk In A Crypto Portfolio: Correlation And Variance
• 2018-05-24: Top Ethereum Token Protocols Which May Replace ERC20
• 2018-05-29: 7 Myths About Ethereum Decentralization
• 2018-05-31: Bitcoin For America: Cryptocurrencies In Campaign Finance

Technological:

• 2018-05-03: Revenues Down, Hashrates Up: 2018 Mining Outlook By The Numbers
• 2018-05-06: A Glimpse Into The Future - What Happens When There Are No More Bitcoin To Mine?
• 2018-05-13: Women In Blockchain And Crypto: How To Tackle Gender Inequality
• 2018-05-17: Blockchain For Elections: Advantages, Cases, Challenges
• 2018-05-18: Why JP Morgan’s Blockchain Patent Application Is Not That Surprising

The classification held up well enough, although sometimes it's a toss-up: Should 'Ethereum Under The Regulatory Spotlight' be considered 'Regulatory' or is it 'Coin-specific'? It's both, but I don't want to introduce a matrix classification for an off-hand experiment. Another gray area is 'Women In Blockchain And Crypto'. Is this really 'Technological'?

As for the last discussion point in the '2018-04 Price' post, the Cointelegraph technical analysis, the articles stopped appearing end-April. That's a pity, because I was just starting to get a feel for cryptocoin technicals.