At the time of writing, bullish movements were underway across the crypto-market, with the same precipitated by Bitcoin’s foray above the $50,000-mark. Thanks to BTC’s movement and owing to the correlation shared by the market’s alts with the world’s largest cryptocurrency, the likes of Polkadot, XRP, and Cosmos were all rallying. At press time, however, their daily charts were yet to register more than a minor uptick in price trend.

XRP

Source: XRP/USD on TradingView

Once one of the mainstays of the market top-five, XRP, at the time of writing, was ranked 7th on CoinMarketCap’s charts. Thanks to its own topsy-turvy price performance over the last few months and the performances of altcoins such as Polkadot and Cardano, the crypto is no longer among the market’s top-five.

Like the rest of the market, XRP too bore the brunt of corrections after Bitcoin dropped below $50,000. In fact, the altcoin fell by over 25% in a 5-day period.

Over the last three days, however, the cryptocurrency seemed to be gaining some bullish momentum. In fact, on the hourly charts, XRP’s hike was observed to be even more significant. However, at the time of writing, it was still difficult to predict whether the crypto would be able to sustain its movement north.

On the contrary, XRP’s indicators continued to flash bearish signals as while the Parabolic SAR’s dotted markers were well above the price candles, the Awesome Oscillator was still noting negative market momentum.

With the legal status of XRP still up for debate in the United States, it is difficult to ascertain what the future has in store for the altcoin.

Polkadot [DOT]

Source: DOT/USD on TradingView

One of the cryptos to have replaced XRP on the rankings, the last few weeks and months have been great for Polkadot, with the altcoin registering its ATH just a few weeks back. However, like most alts, it too dropped dramatically on the charts after BTC’s depreciation, with the crypto falling by 17%.

Curiously, since then, DOT has been on an impressive uptrend, with the alt up by over 22% in the last 7 days. With the rest of the market pumping at press time, it seemed likely that these gains would be pushed even higher.

While the width of the Bollinger Bands suggested some degree of near-term price volatility, the Relative Strength Index was nearing the overbought zone. Here, it’s worth noting that XRP’s price has corrected itself the last two times the RSI has climbed into the said zone.

The project made headlines recently after a Polkadot-based platform raised $1.6M in funding from venture capitalists.

Cosmos [ATOM]

Source: ATOM/USD on TradingView

ATOM’s price movements shared more similarities with the likes of XRP, than Polkadot, with the altcoin also gaining on the charts only recently. In the last 7 days alone, ATOM has climbed by 12%. However, the said hike did come on the back of a 16% depreciation. While the altcoin’s market was trending upwards at the time of writing, it is worth noting that ATOM’s indicators on the daily timeframe were yet to underline any bullishness.

While the MACD line was under the Signal line, despite the bearish momentum falling on the histogram, the Chaikin Money Flow was heading south. If these indicators reverse course in the near-term, a trend reversal can be expected soon.

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Source: https://ambcrypto.com/xrp-polkadot-cosmos-price-analysis-03-march

Crypto exchange Bitfinex launched a payment widget dubbed Bitfinex Pay that will aim to provide online merchants with a means of receiving “seamless” digital token payments.

Merchants can integrate the payment technology onto a website facilitating e-payments. Users will have the option to pay with various cryptocurrencies which include Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Lightning Network BTC (LN-BTC) and Tether (USDt) via Ethereum or Tron. 

Payments made via Bitfinex Pay will be directly deposited into a merchant’s exchange wallet on Bitfinex. The value of payments is capped at $1,000. 

Furthermore, customers will not have to pay any processing fees for using Bitfinex Pay. However, transaction fees incurred on the relevant blockchain will be borne by online merchants and their customers.

In a release shared with AMBCrypto CTO at Bitfinex Paolo Ardoino said: 

Bitfinex Pay enables merchants to be easily equipped to support crypto payments as increasing numbers of consumers become more comfortable with paying for goods and services using digital tokens.

“Eligible” merchants who choose to integrate the widget on their websites will first need to register and verify their Bitfinex account to at least the intermediate level and apply for merchant verification. Merchants can create a sub-account on verification. 

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Source: https://ambcrypto.com/bitfinex-launches-bitfinex-pay-for-merchants-to-accept-payments-in-eth-btc

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy) expressed hope on Wednesday that Congress will be able to reform the tax rules governing cryptocurrency, which have been a longtime bugbear for Bitcoin owners and the burgeoning crypto industry.

“We’re optimistic we can find bipartisan agreement on that issue,” said Lummis during a meeting with crypto executives and policy makers on the social media app Clubhouse.

The comment from Lummis, who has owned Bitcoin since 2013, came in response to a question about whether Congress will pass a proposed law calling for a “de minimis” tax exemption for small cryptocurrency transactions.

Currently, IRS guidance stipulates that any minor crypto transaction—such as sending $5 worth of Bitcoin to a friend or using it to buy a cup of coffee—can amount to a capital gains event. Critics say this rule creates needless tax headaches, and discourages innovation by limiting the use of crypto in day-to-day transactions.

And while the IRS has become preoccupied with collecting tax on crypto—a question about virtual currency is now at the top of filers’ income tax return—the agency has done little to simplify the process for reporting it.

Lummis’s interest could help accelerate the passage of crypto tax reform, which has been proposed in bills before the House of Representatives, but never in the Senate. Lummis, whose home state of Wyoming has branded itself as a crypto hub, also pointed to a new Financial Innovation Caucus she is leading with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az) as evidence of bipartisan interest in the issue.

Policy researchers on the Clubhouse call cautioned, however, that passage of crypto legislation is unlikely to occur in the near future. The Biden Administration and Congress is currently wrangling over weighty issues related to the pandemic and economic stimulus, so crypto taxation—a relatively boutique issue—is unlikely to be a high priority.

More broadly, members of the call noted that lawmakers are becoming more knowledgable about cryptocurrency, and not only at the federal level.

Nathan McCauley, the CEO of crypto storage service Anchorage, said that his company has been speaking with several state governments about adding crypto to their corporate treasuries—a move that would mirror what big private sector companies like Tesla and Square have done in recent months.

McCauley suggested the states’ interest in crypto is related to a search for alternate finance and investing options at a time when bond markets are in a prolonged slump.

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Source: https://decrypt.co/60059/bitcoin-senator-lummis-crypto-tax-reform