Bitcoin price taps $29.3K as data shows ‘most resilient’ US jobs market

August 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Bitcoin offers slight volatility after fresh U.S. macro data, but BTC price behavior remains firmly rangebound.

Bitcoin (BTC) inched higher at the Aug. 4 Wall Street open as mixed United States unemployment data rocked U.S. dollar strength.

*BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

U.S. unemployment gives mixed picture

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC price action as BTC/USD set daily highs of $29,273.

U.S. jobless figures came in below expectations on the day, at 3.5% versus an estimated 3.6%, while the number of jobs added was less than forecast.

Responding, financial commentator Holger Zschaepitz said that the data had “no clear message.”

“Despite the fastest rising rates of all time, the labor market remains strong,” financial commentary resource The Kobeissi Letter continued in part of its own synopsis.

“This is the most resilient labor market in history.”

While U.S. stocks and Bitcoin managed to eke out modest gains as a result, the U.S. dollar felt the pressure in what could still aid a more pronounced BTC price rebound.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) was down 0.6% on the day at 101.8, setting new lows for August.

*U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) 1-day chart. Source: TradingView*

For Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, there was reason to believe that BTC/USD could improve into the next round of macroeconomic data releases.

“This means $DXY down, stocks up & Bitcoin potentially up awaiting CPI next week,” he wrote about the jobs data.

Van de Poppe referenced the upcoming Consumer Price Index inflation print for June, due Aug. 10.

BTC price range to stick into weekend, says trader

Turning to Bitcoin itself, popular trader Skew tracked rash moves among traders as brief BTC price volatility appeared.

$BTC
Short taken out, some short float left still https://t.co/fVvHhrVr1y pic.twitter.com/zARYYyIZy8
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) August 4, 2023

He nonetheless described the broader market reaction to the data as “very interesting.”

On-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators likewise followed changes in bid and ask liquidity on the Binance BTC/USD order book.

Was watching the #Bitcoin PA in real time on #FireCharts 2.0 (beta) as the Economic Reports came across the wire. Purple Whales started eating resistance as the numbers came in, then a column of bids and asks were pulled and a few minutes later moved.

Out of respect and… pic.twitter.com/5bjloZM7DW
— Material Indicators (@MI_Algos) August 4, 2023

Going into the weekend, few expected a significant change in the overall sideways trading environment.

“I feel we will be stuck above this support zone for this weekend. For now no entry for now as we just remain range bound,” a typical prediction from popular trader Crypto Tony read earlier in the day, alongside a chart showing relevant levels.

*BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Crypto Tony/Twitter*

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

High skilled jobs most exposed to AI, impact is still unknown – report

July 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

A deep dive into global employment data and trends indicates that AI could have the biggest impact on high-skill jobs.

An employment outlook paper suggests that highly skilled professions are the most exposed to artificial intelligence while its potential impact on employment is yet to be seen.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its latest employment report, with a focus on labour demand and widespread shortages given ongoing high inflation and resulting fiscal policies around the world.

A key takeaway is covered in a chapter dedicated to exploring why there is no significant sign of slowing labour demand due to advancements in AI. Measures of AI exposure show that available tools have shown the most progress in areas requiring “non-routine, cognitive tasks such as information ordering, memorization and perceptual speed”.

Just released: OECD’s 2023 Employment Outlook!

See latest analysis to find out more https://t.co/OoHoiCv9qE #EmploymentOutlook pic.twitter.com/6nSiv4JPMx
— OECD ➡️ Better Policies for Better Lives (@OECD) July 11, 2023

The OECD says these are key qualities of occupations requiring significant training or tertiary education. The research goes on to label “high-skill, white collar jobs” as the most exposed to AI.

Business professionals, managers, chief executives and science and engineering professionals are listed as the main occupations exposed to AI capabilities. Meanwhile food preparation assistants, agriculture, forestry and fishery labourers, cleaners and helpers are named as the least affected occupations by AI.

The publication also takes an in-depth look at evidence on the impact of AI on labour markets, noting that progress in space has been fast, making it hard to distinguish its outputs from those produced by humans.

The report states that the net impact of AI is ambiguous because while AI displaces some jobs, its can also stimulate labour demand by increasing productivity. AI also has the potential to create new tasks, which in part creates new jobs.

“AI will substitute for labour in certain jobs, but it will also create new jobs for which human labour has a competitive advantage.”

Meanwhile negative employment effects due to AI advances are hard to find. The OECD cites data which reflects high-skill workers seeing employment gains over the past decade in comparison to low skilled workers.

The chapter also notes that its findings on the impact on specific job levels comes before the advent of large language models like ChatGPT, noting that generative AI could further expand the scope of tasks and jobs that can be automated.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, the AI sector has seen a surge in job seekers, with Google searches for “AI jobs” four times higher than searches for “crypto jobs” during 2021s peak bull run.

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‘Extended reality’ to create 860K jobs by 2025: EU Commission

July 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The European Commission has laid out its plans for becoming a “world leader” in Web 4.0 and the Metaverse.

The European Commission has tipped “extended reality” — technology that enables people to interact with virtual worlds — will create as many as 860,000 jobs in Europe by 2025.

Extended reality or XR is an umbrella term for immersive technologies including virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality, and is a “major technology enabler” for virtual worlds, said the Commission on July 11.

Europe throws its hat in the ring to become a world leader in Web 4.0 and virtual worlds.

The new internet will impact the way people live together, bringing many benefits.

And we need to have people at the centre and shape it according to our EU digital rights and principles. pic.twitter.com/rc0R3qUm0y
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) July 11, 2023

“The impact on employment is expected to be highly significant,” it said, noting that another 1.2 million to 2.4 million jobs would be directly or indirectly created in other sectors by 2025.

However, the Commission noted that today, most of the innovation around the Metaverse occurs in the United States, China and South Korea.

“Contrary to these countries, in the EU there are no tech giants to lead the investment in the development of virtual worlds over the next decade.”

Most of the AR/VR market activity in Europe focuses on gaming, media and entertainment, but there’s “much room” for other applications, including retail, healthcare, military and defense, and manufacturing.

The Commission noted that virtual worlds, enabled by these XR devices, are one of the technologies enabling the “next generation” of the world wide web — Web 4.0 — where physical and digital objects come together in virtual environments in real-time.

“We are at the onset of a major technological transition, Web 4.0. Virtual worlds are an important enabler of Web 4.0 that can significantly revolutionize the daily lives of people and open a wide range of opportunities in many business and industrial ecosystems,” it said.

Some examples included using virtual worlds to train surgeons for complex medical procedures, using “digital twins” to preserve cultural heritage buildings, or even, using 3D models to solve global warming.

In its working document submitted to the European Parliament, the Commission proposed its plan to become a “world leader” in Web 4.0 and the Metaverse.

Web 4.0 (aka the #Metaverse ) will allow an integration between digital and real objects and environments.

Europe has what it takes to lead this next technological transition — notably for the #industry.

Our strategyhttps://t.co/Bc39OYDkru pic.twitter.com/v4iGqtEkKw
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) July 11, 2023

“Today, Europe throws its hat in the ring to become a world leader in Web 4.0 and virtual worlds,” said Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market.

A total of 10 actions have been proposed by the Commission to achieve this, including attracting specialized virtual world talent to the region, creating regulatory sandboxes to test novel ideas and developing global standards for interoperable metaverses.

“Europe has what it takes to lead the next technological transition: innovative start-ups, rich creative content, and industrial applications, a strong role as a global standard-setter, and an innovation-friendly and predictable legal framework,” added Breton.

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48% fewer new crypto coders last year – developer report

July 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Newcomers account for the highest percentage of developers that have left the industry over the past 12 months.

The number of new developers entering the cryptocurrency sector has dropped by nearly 50 percent over the past year, according to research from Electric Capital’s Developer Report.

The latest gauge of the state of the cryptocurrency developer ecosystem indicates that long-term coders that have worked in the industry for over a year commit more code and work more days than developers that have left.

According to the data, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has an estimated 21,300 monthly active open source developers as of June 1. The space has seen a 22% decline in the number of developers since June 2022.

The caveat is that developers that have exited the space are classified as “newcomers” that worked in the industry for less than a year. The impact of the departure of these developers was made less significant considering that they were responsible for less than 20% of all code commits over the past 12 months.

Long term cryptocurrency developers who’ve worked in the industry for more than a year are responsible for over 80% of committed code.

The Developer Report estimates that some 7,700 newcomer developers left the space since June 2022. Emerging developers that have worked in the industry for up to two years has increased by 1650 while established developers that have over two years of experience in the cryptocurrency space increase by 150.

The report notes that the decline in newcomer developers is due to fewer coders exploring work in the cryptocurrency space. This has been exacerbated by an ongoing bear market which has suppressed wider cryptocurrency markets.

Source: Electric Capital Developer Report

The analysts also suggest that while 2023’s retention of new developers has been significantly less that 2022 and 2021, the trend is not “abnormal” across a longer time frame.

“If we look at cohort retention analysis starting from 2015, we see that developers who join during bear markets leave faster.”

Newcomer developers typically enter the cryptocurrency sector around market peaks. There was a 70% dominance of newcomer developers six months after January 2018’s cryptocurrency market peak. This was followed by a 60% newcomer dominance in the six months following the November 2021 market all-time high.

Meanwhile emerging and established developers tend to dominate the sector when the cryptocurrency space enters bear market territory.

The second half of 2022 saw a spate of layoffs across the cryptocurrency industry as companies looked to downsize in response to tough market conditions. The industry then saw a decline in layoffs from February 2023, according to market research conducted by Cointelegraph.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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Can artificial intelligence create more jobs?

May 11, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Despite negatively impacting the labor market, there are many reasons to think AI will eventually contribute to creating new jobs and economic growth.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can increase productivity, boost economic growth, alter existing occupations and generate new ones. Without a doubt, AI will result in some job displacement in the short term, but there are numerous reasons to think that AI will also contribute to creating new jobs and economic growth in the long run.

Artificial intelligence can also help workers become more effective and productive by giving them access to real-time data and insights, enabling them to enhance their performance and make better decisions. In addition, AI can generate new employment opportunities in the creative and artistic industries by nurturing new modes of expression and creativity. For instance, artificial intelligence can produce original works of literature, music and art, allowing creators to work with AI systems to explore new kinds of creativity.

Will Ai erase jobs? Yes
Will Ai create jobs? Yes

1-1 goaless draw
— Kalu Aja (@FinPlanKaluAja1) April 6, 2023

Similarly, by assisting organizations in identifying and averting cyberattacks, AI can create new jobs in the cybersecurity sector. For example, AI can spot behavioral patterns that could be signs of a cyberattack, enabling organizations to take proactive steps to stop or lessen the attack. Cybersecurity experts who are proficient in employing AI and machine learning techniques to protect against cyber threats may find new employment prospects as a result.

Enabling new products, services, industries and jobs with AI

By enabling the development of new products and services previously unattainable or unfeasible, AI can also create new jobs. For instance, AI can create personalized medicinal treatments, precision farming and sophisticated industrial methods. These new products and services can lead to new responsibilities in research, development and marketing, along with new skills and experience requirements.

AI can potentially generate new jobs by enabling new sectors and business models. For instance, the emergence of AI-powered digital assistants and smart home appliances has opened up new career prospects for hardware engineers, data analysts and software developers. Similar to how autonomous vehicle and drone research has opened up new career prospects for engineers, technicians and logistics specialists.

AI automation and the transformation of existing jobs

Automating tedious and normal chores allows people to concentrate on more difficult and creative tasks, which is one example of how artificial intelligence might create jobs. For instance, AI-powered chatbots can respond to routine customer service questions, freeing up human customer service agents to handle more complicated situations that call for interpersonal connection and problem-solving abilities.

In addition, businesses can engage with clients and partners in new areas thanks to language translation services enabled by artificial intelligence. As a result, there are more opportunities for linguists, software developers and localization experts to create and enhance these systems.

Similarly, AI-powered drones are now being utilized for inspecting infrastructure, and surveying and monitoring crops. As the demand for software developers, data analysts and drone operators increases, new job possibilities will arise in these fields.

5. Agriculture:

AI-powered drones, sensors, and robotics will optimize crop management, reduce waste, and improve sustainability.

Example: Blue River Technology's See & Spray system uses AI to identify and target weeds, reducing the need for chemical herbicides.
— Tomas Ondrejka (@tomas_ondrejka) May 2, 2023

Some concerns and the call to action

However, there are fears that AI may result in significant job displacement in some businesses and areas. Automation fueled by AI, for instance, may result in considerable job losses in the industrial, retail and transportation industries, and some administrative and white-collar positions. Automating low-skilled occupations and creating new opportunities for highly trained individuals at the expense of workers with less education and training could also worsen already-existing disparities.

Policymakers, educators and business leaders must collaborate to address these issues, ensuring people are ready for the evolving nature of work in the AI era. Focusing on education and training will be necessary, especially in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions, and other areas where there will likely be a significant need for competent individuals. To facilitate the development and commercialization of new products and services, it will also be necessary to make investments in infrastructure and innovation.

Additionally, authorities need to make sure that society as a whole benefits from AI. New laws and regulations may be required to address the issues of income inequality and job displacement, and ensure employees are protected with access to social safety nets.

Will Bitcoin break above $30K? New JOLTS data, weaker dollar boost chances

April 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Bitcoin price is poised to reach $31,000 in April amid a lower vacancy turnout in the U.S., which risks crashing the dollar strength index to a yearly low.

On April 4, the U.S. dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback's performance versus the basket of six leading foreign currencies, dropped by 0.5% after demand for workers in the world's largest economy declined.

BTC price eye breakout with dollar at 2-month lows

Bitcoin (BTC) has grown 3.5% since to around $28,800, continuing its extremely negative correlation with the dollar. The BTC/USD pair now eyes a breakout at $30,000, a psychological resistance level, due to hopes that the greenback will weaken further in 2023.

*DXY vs. BTC/USD year-to-date returns and correlation coefficient. Source: TradingView*

Meanwhile, the February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that the number of official job vacancies dropped below 10 million for the first time since May 2021.

In other words, while two jobs were available for each unemployed person at some point last year, there are now just 1.67.

*U.S. vacancies for each job seeker. Source: Bloomberg*

Interestingly, the implicit federal funds rate for January 2024 declined after the latest JOLTS data, in similar fashion amid March's bank failures.

The rate expectations are now around 4% compared to about 5% before the banking crisis, suggesting the market expects the Federal Reserve to stop, if not reverse, its interest rate hike program.

*Implicit federal funds rate drop after JOLTS data. Source: Bloomberg*

Worth noting is that the JOLTS readings are backward-looking, meaning the latest data does not include March's sudden wave of bank failures and well-publicized layoffs at McDonald's, Walmart, and across the technology companies, including Amazon and Apple.

Thus, the market is likely to see even worse JOLTS data in the next few months. This may also line up with the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in May, prompting a dovish response, as a Reuter poll of forex strategists anticipates.

Lower rates should pressure the dollar downward and, in turn, Bitcoin higher, as long as their traditionally-inverse price correlation remains.

Dollar $DXY looks fundamentally worse and worse for each year that goes by. Last #crypto bull run we didn’t really have a proper narrative, but for the next we will. Everything is alligning for a monster run after 2023
— Mac (@MacnBTC) April 3, 2023

Bitcoin price painting bullish continuation pattern

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin price eyes an extended price rally in April as it paints an ascending triangle pattern.

An ascending triangle is a bullish continuation pattern that appears when the price trends between a horizontal trendline resistance and a rising trendline support.

It completes when the price breaks out of the triangle in the direction of the previous trend and rises by as much as the triangle's maximum height.

*BTC/USD daily price chart featuring ascending triangle breakout setup. Source: TradingView*

Applying the scenario on the ongoing BTC price trend brings $31,000 as its next upside target, up around 8.5% from current price levels.

Meanwhile, the DXY has the potential to drop by another 1% in April to test the lower range of its long-standing support channel (purple) at around 100.86.

*DXY daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

The lower rate scenario risks pushing DXY below the support channel to a new yearly low with some analysts anticipating a drop toward 95.

Ultimately, such a scenario will likely mean another leg-up for the cryptocurrency markets, and a potential $35,000 target for Bitcoin in Q2.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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CoinFLEX announces staff cuts as part of measures to reduce costs by up to 60%

July 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

“The intention is to remain right-sized for any entity considering a potential acquisition of or partnership opportunity with CoinFLEX,” said the exchange.

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinFLEX said it had downsized a “significant number” of team members in an effort to cut operating costs.

According to a Friday blog post, CoinFLEX said it had cut some staff across “all departments and geographies” as part of measures to reduce the company’s costs by 50% to 60%. The majority of the remaining team members will focus on product and technology, and the exchange said it would consider scaling as “volume comes back.”

“The intention is to remain right-sized for any entity considering a potential acquisition of or partnership opportunity with CoinFLEX,” said the exchange.

On Saturday, CoinFLEX halted withdrawals after an unnamed party reportedly failed to meet a $47 million margin call. CEO Mark Lamb later took to Twitter to confirm rumors that CoinFLEX had a written contract with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponent Roger Ver “obligating him to personally guarantee any negative equity on his CoinFLEX account and top up margin regularly.” Ver has denied the exchange’s claims.

Roger Ver owes CoinFLEX $47 Million USDC. We have a written contract with him obligating him to personally guarantee any negative equity on his CoinFLEX account and top up margin regularly. He has been in default of this agreement and we have served a notice of default.
— Mark Lamb (@MarkDavidLamb) June 28, 2022

Though CoinFLEX partially reopened user withdrawals on July 14, many users have expressed concerns about the exchange’s liquidity amid other insolvency issues with Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital and Celsius Network. Estimates later suggested that CoinFLEX’s shortfall could be as high as $84 million, for which the firm has started arbitration procedures in Hong Kong.

Following its halting of withdrawals, CoinFLEX initially said it planned to fix its liquidity shortage by issuing a new token, Recovery Value USD (rvUSD). Though no tokens have been released at the time of publication, the exchange said on Friday it still planned to move forward with the recovery plan:

“We continue working with lawyers and the significant creditor group on the details around the distribution of the CoinFLEX Composite (inclusive of rvUSD, equity, and FLEX Coin) and expect to have numbers around this next week so that we can put this to a vote from all depositors as soon as possible thereafter.”

Gemini cuts more staff as many crypto prices increase: Report

July 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

A source close to the crypto exchange reportedly said there were 68 fewer employees on the company’s Slack channel as of Monday, suggesting Gemini had cut roughly 7% of its staff.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’ Gemini has reportedly laid off additional staff more than a month after reports suggested the cryptocurrency exchange cut 10% of its employees.

In a Monday report from TechCrunch, the news outlet said that a source close to Gemini reported 68 fewer employees on the company’s Slack channel, suggesting the crypto exchange had cut roughly 7% of its more than 1,000 staff. The unnamed source claimed that Gemini continued laying off employees as part of “extreme cost-cutting.”

Crypto exchange Gemini executes second round of layoffs less than two months after axing 10% of staff https://t.co/2ocARTxsnh by @jacqmelinek
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) July 18, 2022

The Winklevoss brothers’ Gemini Trust reportedly cut 10% of its employees amid the bear market in June as the price of many major cryptocurrencies fell by double-digit percentages. However, at the time of publication, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) prices have risen by more than 4% and 10% in the last 24 hours, respectively.

Amid the crypto market volatility and other major exchanges including Coinbase and Crypto.com announcing similar staff cuts in June, the Winklevoss brothers were reportedly on tour with their band, Mars Junction:

We are kicking off the @MarsJunction summer tour in Asbury Park, New Jersey at @WonderBarAP tomorrow night! Come rock with us.

Get tickets here: https://t.co/gWnnMc2f4u pic.twitter.com/XC6rPcrNkd
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) June 8, 2022

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against Gemini in June, alleging the exchange made false or misleading statements in 2017 during in-person meetings and in official documents. The statements were part of Gemini’s self-certification of a BTC futures contract, facilitating the CFTC’s determination to see if the investment vehicle could be susceptible to manipulation.

Cointelegraph reached out to Gemini, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Vietnam’s Blockchain Industry Faces Shortage of Talent

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