In a report out today from Goldman Sachs about the future of money, the bank points out that 80% of bitcoin volume is now exchanged into and out of Chinese yuan.The second-highest trading currency is the US dollar, followed by smaller denominations in yen and euros.The revelation of China’s bitcoin trading dominance seems to defy the logic that tight government restrictions would depress bitcoin’s adoption in the world’s largest economy.The amount of bitcoin trading activity in China has also risen, despite bitcoin’s precipitous price fall from last year’s $1,000-plus highs to less than $300 today.The Chinese bitcoin surge comes against a backdrop of waning confidence in the Chinese economy, as the yuan weakens against the strengthening dollar and capital outflows—once rare in China—increase at record rates.China’s central bank clamped down on the cryptocurrency back in December 2013 when it banned bitcoin transactions at banks, retailers, and payment companies such as Alipay and Tencent.

But the data show that bitcoin volume continued marching higher as bitcoin believers kept buying, selling and mining the cryptocurrency.The fact that China has become a major mining hub is a likely contributor to its high bitcoin transaction volume, according to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.The report also notes that bitcoin has lured day traders looking to profit off of bitcoin’s volatility, as well as younger Chinese investors who might not have the money to invest in property or the understanding to invest in the stock market.bitcoin exchange in dubaiBitcoin evangelist and crypto currency lawyer Roland Sun explained in an interview on industry website Lets Talk Bitcoin that there’s no explicit ban on buying, selling, or owning bitcoin as long as the central bank considers it a commodity, rather than a currency.ethereum africa

He said “the only restriction imposed here is to block financial institutions and third-party payment processors from aiding crypto currency businesses (yet there are still many loopholes in reality to circumvent or even penetrate that restriction).” So until the Chinese government provides more clarity on its bitcoin stance, China’s bitcoin trade is likely to go on.Banking giant Goldman Sachs has recently warned its clients that the Bitcoin may halt in its bullish movement and head for a bearish movement very soon, according to a report by Interactive Investor.bitcoin millionaire storiesWhile the company that does not regularly monitor cryptocurrency news, it recently expressed its own opinion regarding Bitcoin in its report called Blockchain Unchained on June 12, 2017.bitcoin chart kursAccording to the bank, once it reaches its high at over $3,100, there would be an expected fall because of its continuous bullish movement.diy bitcoin mining machine

According to ZeroHedge, there is an expected reversal once it reaches its all time high.This is because he claims that the oscillator shows negatively which indicates an eventual bear movement.In fact, recent movements in Bitcoin price shows trends of it going lower than the highs that it has accumulated over the past weeks essentially reaching a ten week low of $2,547.With this in mind, Bitcoin is expected to further drop in value as the weeks go by.bitcoin 350 millionBitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that hit a low.ppc vs bitcoinIn fact, other cryptocurrencies have hit a low red mark including the the second contender to Bitcoin, Ethereum, which has also reached a low of $361 after it went over $400 in its last all time high.ethereum release timelineIn fact, almost all the cryptocurrencies experienced lows this week so it could be a market correction which frequently happens in other financial markets such as the stock market.bitcoin value vs difficulty

However, with this movement, it does seem that the prediction of Goldman Sachs may be right on cue with their prediction of a bearish market.While Ethereum has also been experiencing price correct along with Bitcoin, it seems that Bitcoin’s drop is much lower than that of Ethereum.This might be an indication that Ethereum is set to overtake the Bitcoin this year.According to report by Market Watch, the value of Ethereum is rapidly increasing in an uptrend although there are occasional drops.The Bitcoin, on the other hand, is remaining quite steady with a big price drop which may be a chance for Ethereum to take over.Blockchain technology is finally "moving beyond the hype."Or so Goldman Sachs (GS) hopes.That's the title of a new Goldman Sachs Research report on the potential use cases for blockchain, the decentralized ledger technology that came around with the digital currency bitcoin.(Quick crash course: The bitcoin blockchain is open-source, public, permissionless, and anonymized; what banks and financial institutions now want to do is use alternate blockchains that, in most cases, would be closed, permissioned, and offer a more controlled environment.)The idea of bank blockchains got hot in the last year, and a number of startups have rushed to service those on Wall Street looking to try the tech to improve efficiency and reduce friction in their processes.

More than 45 banks have signed on to a blockchain consortium called R3 CEV, while separately, companies like Chain have created bankchains for big-name clients like Visa and Citi.The Goldman report comes up with five "real-world scenarios" for blockchain where "the dollar benefits start to become apparent."Blockchaintech could promise a secure and superior system for record-keeping and managing digital payment history—all very relevant to companies like Airbnb or Uber.One of the earliest popular sound bites in the bitcoin world, in fact, was the idea that the blockchain could offer a "decentralized Uber," a way to have riders order and pay a driver over the blockchain, all without using a middleman like Uber that takes a cut to connect rider and driver.(Of course, there are a number of obvious problems with a decentralized ride-ordering service, such as where you'd turn to settle price disputes or for safety emergencies.)"We believe blockchain could help accelerate the adoption of P2P lodging," Goldman says, "and generate $3-$9 billion in incremental revenue opportunity through 2020."As

you know (from your massive monthly electricity bill), most homeowners and renters rely on power from big central utilities.But some people are moving toward rooftop solar panels or battery-generated electricity, and that means they could potentially act as power providers to others.Goldman imagines blockchain helping to "facilitate secure transactions of power between individuals on a distributed network who do not have an existing relationship."It could be as much as a $7 billion innovation, the report estimates.Here's another truth well known to you if you own a car, or a home, or any other property you've insured: The title search process is arduous and expensive.If the process of title insurance is taken to the blockchain, it could reduce the costs of the provider, and in turn the fees passed on to you, "by reducing errors and manual effort," Goldman says.(To be sure, this bullet point in the Goldman report seems like it could have been subbed for any financial transaction at all; insurance is hardly the only process where delays and human error can be reduced to lower costs and fees.)This is the use case that has most commonly been touted by the folks in banking looking to try blockchain tech.

An estimated 10% of stock trades are subject to small human eror in the process, which can make a stock purchase or trade take longer to settle.The appeal of blockchain is in speeding up such transactions.By using blockchain to record the clearing and settling of equities trades, Goldman estimates the industry could save some $12 billion in annual costs "by moving to a shorter, and potentially customized, settlement window."Thismay be the least sexy of these five scenarios, but blockchain tech could help with KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) compliance efforts.By storing your account information on a closed blockchain, it could reduce the number of invalid or fraudulent transactions that get through.Of course, all of this is still theoretical.And those in the bitcoin world, where the idea of blockchain began, are deeply skeptical about the true potential for banks to use closed blockchains; they argue that the entire appeal of blockchain technology is its openness.Goldman knows that there are many "ifs" and "buts" to the bankchain movement.