Showing posts with label crypto outlook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crypto outlook. Show all posts

Will The Crypto Heat Wave Continue!? The August 2020 Crypto Outlook....

Welcome to the August Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

Cryptocurrencies had an excellent month. In July, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap rose to more than $326 billion from about $260 billion. Ethereum was the best-performing major currency, gaining by 44%, followed by Ripple, whose price rose by 35%. Bitcoin cash and Bitcoin rose by 32% and 25%, respectively.
Crypto price charts

Why Cryptocurrencies Rallied In July

There are several reasons for the current exuberance in the cryptocurrencies industry. First, the US dollar has been in a sharp decline in the past few months. In July, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the currency against a group of peers, declined by 4%. Since cryptocurrencies are usually traded in dollars, a weak dollar tends to be beneficial for them.

Second, cryptocurrencies rose because of the overall mood of alternative assets. For example, in July, key assets like gold, silver, palladium, and copper reached their all-time high. Third, the rising number of coronavirus cases in the United States led many to believe that interest rates will remain lower for longer. Lower interest rates lead to lower real yields. As such, more people moved from treasuries to alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum 2.0 Launch

Ethereum outperformed other cryptocurrencies because of the online enthusiasm about ETH 2.0, which is the first major upgrade to the network. The goal of the upgrade is to make the system faster and more secure to support more smart contracts.

It will do that by moving from the current proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS). The two processes are different because in PoW, miners validate transactions by solving complex calculations. In PoS, validators lock up holdings of the crypto as collateral for the right to validate the transaction.

In July, the developers behind the upgrade released a validator launchpad, which enables people to test the platform. On August 4, the developers will launch the finalised testnet for ETH 2.0. In the past, cryptocurrencies tended to jump ahead of a major event. For example, in May, Bitcoin price rose ahead of the halving event.

US Banks To Provide Crypto Custody Services

In July, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) said that banks in the US could offer custody services for crypto assets. The acting comptroller of OCC said:

“This opinion clarifies that banks can continue satisfying their customers' needs for safeguarding their most valuable assets, which today for tens of millions of Americans includes cryptocurrency."

This was a big deal for two main reasons. Firstly, interest for crypto among large institutions is rising as the industry matures. Second, most US banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have mostly stayed out of cryptocurrencies because of compliance issues. Therefore, with regulatory issues behind them, we will likely see these banks announce their crypto offerings in the coming month.

US Coronavirus Cases And US-China Tensions

In July, crypto investors will be watching the number of coronavirus cases in the US and the escalating tensions between the two superpowers. Cryptocurrencies are likely to continue moving in an upward trend if the number of coronavirus cases in the US continue to rise. That is mostly because it will increase the likelihood that interest rates will remain low for longer. It will also mean that the Fed could continue printing dollars, which is a positive thing for digital assets.

The same is true with the deteriorating relations between the US and China. If they continue worsening, it could lead to disruption of trade, which will also lead to more Fed actions.

Top Crypto Events In August

There will be several cryptocurrencies events in August, most of which will be online. Some of these events are Future Proof, International Conference on Decentralised Applications and Infrastructure (IEEE DAPPS), International Conference on Big Data and Blockchain, and Blockchain World Forum.

Bitcoin August Technical Forecast

The weekly chart shows that Bitcoin’s price has been in an upward trend after bottoming at $3867 in March this year. The price is above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages while the RSI has been rising. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls target the next resistance level at $13,917.

Bitcoin price chart

At Contentworks, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

 Visit Contentworks at www.contentworks.agency

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Global Crypto Press / Breaking Crypto News
PR Distribution / Industry Services

Will We See Heat On The Summer Charts?! The July 2020 CRYPTO OUTLOOK...

Welcome to the July Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

The cryptocurrencies sector was relatively calm in June as the world economy started to reopen after months of lockdown. The price of Bitcoin remained below the important resistance level of $10,000 while Ethereum rose by 12%. Ripple declined by more than 7% even as the company announced new plans to expand its remittance gateways.



Ethereum momentum gains ahead of ETH 2.0...
ETH was among the best-performing digital currencies in June as enthusiasm rose over Ethereum 2.0.

For starters, ETH 2.0 is a new software update to the current public mainnet that is intended to improve Ethereum usage and adoption. The most significant change in the system will be Proof of Stake (PoS), which will be implemented by sharding. By implementing PoS, ETH 2.0 will replace miners and electricity with validators and stake. In this, validators will replace miners as the individuals who maintain the agreed-upon state of the network and receive rewards for randomly selecting the next block of data.

ETH 2.0 will be the next big update in the cryptocurrencies space after halving, which happened in May. Therefore, there is a possibility that the price of ETH will continue to rise as enthusiasts wait for the new changes.

Ripple gets ready to expand payment gateways...
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a sharp decline in global remittances. According to the World Bank, total remittances will fall by more than 20% this year as unemployment rates in the developed world rise. However, digital platforms have seen an increase in transactions.

In a statement in June, Asheesh Birla, an executive at Ripple said that the company was moving to expand its remittance gateways to more countries. While the process will take months to implement, traders believe it will lead to more transactions in the XRP platform. In July, we will continue to focus more on these developments.

Coronavirus second wave...
The past three months have been difficult for the world economy. The pandemic also put cryptocurrencies to their biggest test since they were formed a decade ago. That is because, in the past, most analysts were worried about whether the currencies could survive a recession.

In total, Ethereum has been among the best-performing digital assets, gaining by more than 66% in the past three months. Bitcoin is next, having gained by 38% while XRP has gained by just 5%.

In July, the currencies may be tested again as the number of coronavirus cases jump in the United States and elsewhere. In the past week, the country has reported more than 100,000 new cases and more states have started to implement stay-at-home orders. And the CDC has warned that these numbers are underreported.

Therefore, cryptocurrencies could see more movement as the Federal Reserve moves to implement more stimulus funding. There is also a possibility that Washington will implement more stimulus. The chart below shows how the three biggest digital currencies have performed during the pandemic.



Top crypto events in July...
Events have been among the worst-affected sectors in the cryptocurrency industry. In the past few months, events that used to attract thousands of attendees have been replaced by virtual events. In July, with the number of cases rising, most events will remain online.

Among the key events to watch are the Cardano Shelly Summit, which will happen on July 2 and 3.  Binance will host its third “off the charts” events while Unitize will happen between July 06 and 10. Other key events to watch are the Singapore Blockchain Week, Mining Disrupt, and Asia Blockchain Summit. We will also be media partners at the TradeOn virtual event so be sure to join us there!

At Contentworks Agency, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

Visit Contentworks at www.contentworks.agency 

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Global Crypto Press / Breaking Crypto News
PR Distribution / Industry Services

Crypto Outlook - June 2020: Focus To Shift To Monetary Policy And ETH 2.0...

Contentworks crypto outlook
Welcome to the June Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

Bitcoin was the best-performing “major” cryptocurrency in March as its price soared by more than 22%. It was followed by Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin, which rose by 9.8%, 1.70%, and 0.50% respectively. In total, the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap rose from about $250 billion to more than $262 billion.

Bitcoin vs Ripple, Ethereum, and Litecoin
Halving was the biggest news of the month as the number of blocks awarded to Bitcoin miners was cut into half. The price rallied a few days before halving, boosted by positive sentiment from billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, who is famous for predicting the 2008/9 financial crisis. In a CNBC interview, he said that he had invested a substantial amount of money in BTC, mostly because of the current monetary policy by the Fed.

After halving, BTC has remained slightly below the psychological level of $10,000 partly because of indecision between bulls and bears.

Focus shifts to monetary policy
In June, the focus in the cryptocurrencies industry will be on monetary policy. As the coronavirus spread, central bankers started to print unlimited amounts of money to support the market. In the United States, the Fed is printing billions of dollars every week in form of its “open-ended quantitative easing” program.

The balance sheet, which was less than $9 trillion before the 2008/9 financial crisis, has ballooned to more than $7 trillion. And analysts expect the trend to continue like that in the next few months. The same trend is happening in Japan, Europe, United Kingdom, and even Australia.

At the same time, talk of negative interest rates is continuing in the market. In the UK, the BOE governor has not ruled out implementing these rates. In the United States, Jerome Powell has ruled out negative rates. But the futures market believes the bank will implement them in December.

This monetary policy is positive for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. That’s because with yields so low, investors will likely allocate their money in risk assets like crypto. Therefore, in June, crypto enthusiasts will be focusing on central banks and how they navigate the pandemic.

 ETH 2.0 to move Ethereum
After halving, the next big thing in the cryptocurrencies industry will be ETH 2.0 or Ethereum 2.0. This is a major update that will be rolled out in the ETH platform in phases. The first phase, christened as Phase 0, will happen in June or July while Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be launched in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

In the first phase, the so-called Beacon Chain will be implemented. It will be important for the platform because it will store and manage the registry validators and implement the important Proof of Stake mechanism. This will help improve the security and speed of transactions.

While the impact of ETH 2.0 will not be felt immediately, analysts expect the price of ETH to rally ahead of the upgrades.

Top Crypto Events In June
The number of physical events in the cryptocurrencies industry has fallen because of the virus. In their place, several event organisers have shifted their focus to virtual events. One of the biggest events will be Virtual Vision Finance, organised by Ultimate Fintech of iFXEXPO fame. The event will have several high-profile speakers including, Fan Xu, of Saxo Bank, Marc Levin of CFG Group, and Charlotte Day from Contentworks Agency. Other key events will be Blockdown and World Bitcoin Conclave.

Final Thoughts

Bitcoin price has found some resistance below the $10,000 level and its volatility as measured by the Average True Range and Bollinger Bands has been falling. This implies that a breakout, in either direction, will probably happen in June.

At Contentworks Agency our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

Visit Contentworks at www.contentworks.agency

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Information Provided via Press Release
Distributed by Global Crypto Press Association Crypto Press Release Distribution for industry.



Global Crypto Outlook May 2020: Focus shifts to ETH 2.0 After Halving...

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Welcome to the May 2020 Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

Cryptocurrencies had a great April. ETH price rose by 50% while Bitcoin, Ripple, and Litecoin rose by more than 20%. In contrast, the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and gold rose by 12%, 10%, and 8% during the month.

Cryptocurrencies gained in April...
There are four main reasons why the price of cryptocurrencies rose in April. First, the overall mood in the market was positive as evidenced by the rising in stocks. Second, there was no major bad news in the industry such as hacking or regulations. Third, crypto enthusiasts are excited about the upcoming bitcoin halving and Ethereum 2.0 protocol that will be launched in the coming months. Finally, the low interest rates and unconventional monetary policy has made more people move to digital currencies.

Halving...
The biggest crypto-related news in May will be about halving. Halving is a process built within the bitcoin network that reduces the number of bitcoins awarded to miners. When it happens, the blocks that miners are awarded are cut into half. As a result, the supply of the digital currency is reduced, which in theory should help raise prices. The past two halving events took place in 2012 and 2016 while the upcoming one will take place on May 12.

In the past, the price of Bitcoin tends to rally ahead of halving. The same is also true for other currencies like Litecoin and bitcoin cash that have halving in their system. As bitcoin price rallies, other digital currencies rise as well.

However, this action tends to fizzle after halving happens as market participants sell the news. Therefore, while bitcoin price may continue rallying, and possibly test $10,000, it is also likely that the price will start weakening after halving happens.

More digital currencies...
The coronavirus pandemic has led to significant changes in the way people operate. Most countries have encouraged their citizens to use digital platforms for payments. The goal is to prevent the transmission of the disease through physical cash. At the same time, more central banks are now starting to increase their focus on creating digital cash. In China, the PBoC has been creating the digital yuan since early 2019. While the project has had several delays, there is a likelihood that it will make an announcement about it in May. Meanwhile, in Sweden, the Riksbank has said that it is developing an e-krona, which will be the digital version of the current currency. Other central banks could announce these measures as countries start to reopen.

ETH 2.0 countdown...
After Bitcoin halving happens, enthusiasts will be focusing on ETH 2.0, which is a new release that will happen in July. The goal of this release will be to remove some of the biggest problems that exist in the Ethereum network especially on speed and scalability. This new release will help solve these problems by introducing a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and sharding. The proof-of-stake mechanism will help reduce the need for mining equipment while sharding will help boost speed of transactions. According to Vitarik Buterin;

“Imagine that Ethereum has been split into thousands of islands. Each island can do its own thing. Each of the islands has its own unique features and everyone belonging on that island, i.e. the accounts, can interact with each other and they can freely indulge in all its features. If they want to contact with other islands, they will have to use some sort of protocol.”

In May, most physical crypto-related events will not take place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Still, there will be several virtual events during the month. The biggest one will be the annual Consensus event that is held by Coindesk. The virtual event will happen on May 11 to May 15. Some of the key speakers will be Akon, Changpeng Zao of Binance, and Sheila Warren of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Another event will be the Crypto Asia Summit that will happen online between May 18 to 23. The key speakers will be Roger Ver, Da Hong Fei of NEO, and Zac Prince of BlockFi.

At Contentworks, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

Visit www.contentworks.agency


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Information Provided via Press Release
Distributed by Global Crypto Press Association Press Release Distribution for industry.



April Crypto Outlook: Why The Crypto Rally Could Intensify in April...

Welcome to the April Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

March was a difficult month for the crypto markets. Actually, it was a difficult month for everyone! In the past 30 days, most cryptocurrencies declined by more than 10%. Ethereum dropped by more than 40% while XRP and BTC dropped by more than 28%. At the same time, March was a month of recovery as BTC rose by more than 40% from its monthly low.
BTC, ETH, and XRP dropped in March

Why Bitcoin Dropped in March
There were several reasons why the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped in the past month. First, the overall sentiment in the market was relatively weak as investors dumped their holdings. In March, major global indices like the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, DAX, and CAC dropped by more than 10% as investors worried about the impact of Coronavirus.

Secondly, the price dropped as more people moved to fiat currencies as more countries and states started lockdowns. In such lockdowns, fiat currencies like dollars, euros and pounds become more valuable because they are accepted in most retail shops.

Thirdly, most investors sold their crypto holdings to cover margin calls in other assets. Fourth, there was a lack of demand from institutional investors, who had seen their other holdings drop by more than 10%. Finally, and most importantly, there were concerns among investors about whether Bitcoin would survive a recession.

April Bitcoin Outlook
In April, the focus will remain on these issues. Investors will still be concerned about Coronavirus, which is continuing to kill thousands. The performance will depend on how long international markets will remain closed.

However, the outlook for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be better in April. This is because the perception among many investors is that the price has already bottomed. This could lead to more demand in the coming month.

Another factor that will influence its price is the decision by the Federal Reserve to accelerate money printing, through the process of quantitative easing. The process, together with large stimulus packages could force many people to question the health of their fiat holdings. More so, people could learn from how the dollar weakened when the Fed started its first quantitative easing. Therefore, all this could lead to more inflows into the crypto market and push their prices higher.

In addition, May is approaching. Between May and June, the number of Bitcoin blocks distributed to miners will be cut into half (halving). This process reduces supply, which is a positive thing for the price since there will be demand. As shown on the chart below, the price of Bitcoin has risen before and after the previous two halvings.
Bitcoin price tends to rise before and after halving

Bitcoin April Technical Forecast
On the four-hour chart below, we see that the BTC/USD pair has pared back its earlier losses and is trading at the 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement level. The price has also found significant resistance slightly below the 7,000 level. Meanwhile, the pair has also formed a triangle pattern, which is nearing its tip. This implies that the price could soon breakout to the upside, and possibly move to the 78.6% Fibonacci level of 9,000.


Final Thoughts
Bitcoin has bounced back from its monthly low of less than $3,500 as sentiment in the market has improved. Similarly, gold too, has managed to recover from its March lows and is currently near its 7-year high. In April, we expect that BTC will make some significant gains as markets stabilize, demand rises, and halving optimism returns.

At Contentworks, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

Visit Contentworks at www.contentworks.agency

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Information Provided via Press Release
Distributed by Global Crypto Press Association Press Release Distribution for industry.



Will the Coronavirus Affect Bitcoin Prices?! - The Feb 2020 Crypto Outlook...

Welcome to the February 2020 Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specialising in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.
2020 is turning out to be another great year for Bitcoin. In January, the price of Bitcoin rose by almost 30%. This was significantly higher than the 3.2% rise in gold price and the -0.16% decline of the S&P500. There are three main reasons for this. 
Firstly, the market is hopeful that the halving event happening later this year will be positive for Bitcoin. This is because Bitcoins will be scarcer and more difficult to mine, potentially increasing their value.
Secondly, the spreading coronavirus disease presents a major risk to the world economy. As such, many investors are using Bitcoin as a safe-haven or as digital gold. Thirdly, technical indicators suggest that the price of Bitcoin bottomed in the fourth quarter of the year. Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that is rallying. Indeed, Litecoin and Ethereum have risen by 66% and 40% respectively. The chart below compares the performance of major cryptocurrencies with that of gold and S&P500.
In February, investors will continue to focus on the spreading coronavirus disease. The disease is estimated to have a negative impact on the world economy because the Chinese supply chain is expected to be affected. As such, it’s possible that many crypto enthusiasts will buy more currencies as a hedge against risk. 
Crypto enthusiasts will continue to count down the days to halving. This is an important event, which will reduce the number of Bitcoins that are awarded to miners. This is an event that takes place after every 210k blocks. The next Bitcoin halving will take place between May and June this year. As of this writing, we are less than 100 days from the event. After this, the next halving will take place in 2024. The price of Bitcoin has historically risen ahead of the halving event.
Ripple will be a key cryptocurrency to watch in February. XRP has risen by 23%. The company behind it made headlines in December, when it raised $200 million from investors. The funding is expected to help Ripple grow its remittances business. Now, there is talk that the company is preparing to go public. Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, told the media that he believed the company had the potential to become a publicly traded company. This will be the first major crypto provider to go public.
The market will also focus on a number of key events including the iFX Expo Asia, which has been temporarily postponed due to the Corona virus. This is usually one of the biggest finance-related events in the world. It is attended by thousands of participants and hundreds of speakers. Some of the key speakers expected will be from companies like Goldman Sachs, Alibaba, Deloitte, and eToro among others.
Another important event will be the Digital Asset Summit (DAS), which will happen in London. This is an event that targets institutional investors. The speakers will be from companies like BitGo, Genesis, Fidelity, and Nexo among others. Other key events to watch will be Blockchain in oil & gas that will be held in Canada and Finnovate that will happen in Berlin Germany.
At Contentworks Agency, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PR and white papers.
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Information Provided via Press Release
Distributed by Global Crypto Press Association Press Release Distribution for industry.



Crypto Outlook January 2020: Your Crypto Snapshot of 2020...


Welcome to the January 2020 Crypto Outlook with Contentworks, an agency specializing in content marketing for financial services, crypto and blockchain.

Bitcoin was one of the best-performing assets in 2019. The currency rose by more than 85%. This was higher than the 30% gain by the S&P 500. It was also higher than gains in gold and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Litecoin. Bitcoin started 2019 from a point of weakness after its price dropped by more than 80% in the previous year.

cryptocurrency chart

Bitcoin started 2020 on a high note after rising by 30 basis points on the first day of the year. The outlook for the year remains uncertain. This is because the currency has declined significantly since peaking at almost $14,000 in 2019. The currency is 44% off its 2019 highs. Nonetheless, there is a ray of hope. The market is anticipating how the currency will perform ahead of the halving event that will happen in June this year. Halving happens when the size of the block reward is reduced by half. This leads to lower supply. Historically, currencies like BTC and LTC have risen ahead of halving. In addition, reports by Blockchain and Coin Dance confirmed that BTC’s hash rate started the year at an all-time high.

In January, the market will continue paying attention to Ripple. Ripple, the company that owns cryptocurrency XRP, will be watched after it raised a massive $200 million round in 2020. The round was led by Tetragon, SBI Holdings, and Route 66 Ventures. This round valued the company at more than $10 billion. The traded XRP currency is valued at more than $8.2 billion and is the third most-valuable crypto after Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company sold more than 66 million XRP tokens in the third quarter.

Ethereum will also be in focus this month. The second-most valuable cryptocurrency has been a laggard in the past year, when its price declined by more than 8%. The currency will be in focus as it completed its second hard fork in less than 30 days. This happened after the mining of the 9,200,000 block in what is being called the Muir Glacier upgrade. This upgrade, which was proposed by EthHub’s Eric Conner, delays the so-called ‘difficulty bomb by 4 million blocks. This is expected to increase the block time slowly with the goal of pushing the network towards a proof-of-stake situation. Enthusiasts will be watching how this develop.

Bithumb, one of the biggest exchanges in the world, will be in the spotlight this month. This is after it emerged that South Korea’s National Tax service was planning to withhold tax worth more than $70 million from the company. Bithumb is the biggest crypto exchange in the country. This tax will be withheld mostly from foreign customers. This will be the first time the company has imposed tax on gains from cryptocurrencies.

Enthusiasts will also be paying attention to a number of events that are scheduled to take place in January. In Las Vegas, the Digital Money Forum will take place on January 7 to 10th. The forum is expected to welcome more than 1000 delegates from the United States and around the world.

In Washington, the Elite AI and Blockchain summit will take place on January 14 and 15.

The North American Bitcoin Conference will happen in Miami on January 15 to 17. Key speakers will be Bill Barhydt, the founder of Abra and Marco Santori, the president of Blockchain.com. The Crypto Finance Conference will happen in Switzerland, and will be headline by the Winklevoss brothers.

At Contentworks, our team of financial professionals closely follows market movements for FX, Crypto and other tradable instruments. We are proud to serve some of the biggest crypto and fintech companies in the world by delivering high-impact articles, videos, PRs and white papers.

Visit Contentworks at http://www.contentworks.agency


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Information Provided via Press Release
Distributed by Global Crypto Press Association Press Release Distribution for industry.