According to a recent research report released by the Cato Institute, Bitcoin could potentially be replaced by other types of crypto-currencies in the near future, which should have better security features and will be less volatile than the current digital currency. The research report added that despite its volatility issues, Bitcoin could play a very important role in making banking accessible to all, especially in the third world countries as the digital currency has been able remove intermediaries from the market-place, which has drastically brought down transaction costs for end-users.

A recent announcement from Microsoft stating that it will now start accepting Bitcoins as a form of payment from users to fund their Xbox accounts has been met with relatively positive views. Many industry experts feel that this will prove to be beneficial, but it will take some time for others similar companies to start accepting the crypto-currency. Additionally, Microsoft is now an early adopter, giving itself a first-mover advantage and free publicity.

Furthermore, it provides existing users with another marketplace to use their Bitcoins, something that wasn't the case a few months ago. It additionally opens the door to other technology giants, showing that adopting Bitcoin as a form of transaction could increase market share.

Technical Analysis

The BTC/USD has finally moved up in today's session and is attracting some sort of buying interest from traders and investors. It is however, continuing to trade in a very narrow range and remains fragile, as there is lot of uncertainty with regards to the direction in which it may go in near-term. The overall trend for BTC/USD remains quite bearish.

Actionable Insight

Sell the BTC/USD at higher levels for a target of $352.5, $346 with a stop-loss of $363.