News Coin Today Launches: Cryptocurrency and Blockchain News

While Soccer Wrap Up typically covers general soccer news, recently a new cryptocurrency and blockchain news website launched at NewsCoinToday.com.

What is News Coin Today

News Coin Today is a cryptocurrency news website dedicated to helping increase the mainstream knowledge and awareness of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The website will be providing introductory articles explaining the basics of blockchain technology, along with whitepaper breakdowns which analyze the whitepapers of various blockchain projects. News Coin Today will also be posting coin reports: in-depth studies of various cryptocurrency projects and their underlying technology.

News Coin Today is also on Twitter @Newscointoday, with timely updates and posts of the best crypto and blockchain content around the world.

Coinbase Commences Final Testing for Ethereum Classic https://t.co/8y92hKctKO pic.twitter.com/cxOCZwA0i9

— News Coin Today (@NewsCoinToday) August 3, 2018

Bitcoin Drops to $7K Support Level

The past week saw Bitcoin drop down between the $7,200-7,500 range, with many wondering whether Bitcoin has already finished peaking at the high $8,400s Bitcoin reached July 24th and 25th. At the time of writing, Bitcoin has dropped through the $7,200 support and is priced at $7,032 per BTC. If this is really the beginning of a new bear trend, it's likely to see Bitcoin drop to 6,800 levels, before possibly sinking further downwards. Some fear lows around the $5,000 mark to come if Bitcoin is trending back downwards on the larger scale. You can read more about Bitcoin's initial drop here on News Coin Today.

Ethereum and Altcoins Also Suffer

With Bitcoin's drop in price, we saw many various altcoins follow suit along with Ethereum. Some prominent coins like Wanchain, Waltonchain, Vechain, and ICON all lost more than 10% in the drop. There has been some recovery across the board in the past 24 hours, however, this drop was a stark reminder that many altcoins can sink much lower than their previously established bottoms. How Bitcoin's most recent drop to $7,000 will affect Ethereum and other altcoins is yet to be determined, however, it seems like the alt-season many investors were hoping for has turned into an extended bear market.

Coinbase Close to Ethereum Classic Support

Perhaps the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, recently announced they have begun the final testing for Ethereum Classic support in a recent tweet and blog post. Coinbase currently supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin on its broadly used web-based and mobile application consumer platform. The inclusion of Ethereum Classic, the original Ethereum blockchain after the 2016 Ethereum hard fork, looks like it could help pump ETC clean through the recently established resistances around the $18 mark, and perhaps towards previous highs of around $40.

If you're interested in reading more about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, be sure to visit News Coin Today for more Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news.

Keep in mind that neither Soccer Wrap Up or News Coin Today are financial advice. Always do your own research before pursuing any financial investments. 

Champions League Round of 16 Draw Sees Real Madrid Face PSG

As the Champions League approaches the knockout stages UEFA has drawn the ties for the round of 16, with French heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain facing holders Real Madrid. Having just collected his latest Ballon d'Or last week in Paris, Ronaldo looks to stop Neymar and PSG's European title aspirations early in the tournament. Other notable matches from the draw feature Antonio Conte's Chelsea drawn against FC Barcelona, along with group-topping Tottenham Hotspur drawn against Juventus FC.

Champions League Round of 16 Draw

Juventus - Tottenham Hotspur
FC Basel - Manchester City
FC Porto - Liverpool
Sevilla - Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain - Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk - AS Roma
Chelsea - Barcelona
Bayern Munich - Besiktas

The Europa League round of 32 draw also took place, with German giants Borussia Dortmund drawn against Atlanta, who in their past two Europa League matches defeated Everton 5-1 and Olympique Lyonnais 1-0. Arsenal have been served up Swedish side Ostersund, while Olympique Lyonnais will have to overcome Villarreal in order to come closer to playing the Europa League final at the Stade de Lyon.

Europa League Round of 32 Draw

Borussia Dortmund - Atlanta
FC Nice - Lokomotiv Moskva
FC Copenhagen - Atletico Madrid
Spartak Moskva - Athletic Bilbao
AEK Athens - Dynamo Kyiv
FC Celtic - FC Zenit
Napoli - RB Leipzig
Crvena zvezda - CSKA Moskva
Olympique Lyonnais - Villarreal
Real Sociedad - FC Salzburg
Partizan - Viktoria Pizen
FCSB - Lazio
FC Ludogorets - AC Milan
Astana - Sporting CP
Ostersund - Arsenal
Olympique Marseille - Sporting Braga

The Champions League round of 16 kicks off on the 13th of February with Juventus hosting Tottenham and FC Basel hosting Manchester City.

Juventus Reveal New Logo and Brand Style

Despite Juventus' 2-1 loss this weekend against title-runners Fiorentina the bianconeri have announced a change in logo which embodies an overall shift towards creating the Juventus brand. With a minimalist and simplified design, the new logo replaces Juve's traditional crest as the club begins to define its new "visual identity", as the club's announcement describes it.

The new logo matches a general trend of sports teams looking to simplify their logos/crests in order to have a more approachable and marketable brand icon. Much more digitally friendly than their previous logo, some fans see the change as pressured by Adidas in order to build a more modern brand identity for future merchandising and marketing growth.

This change in the club's logo was accompanied by a spectacular event in Milan which had a variety of Juventus "superfans" like Giorgio Moroder. The event and messaging surrounding this change ultimately highlight that Juventus is seeking to expand its fan and customer base. From the announcement post on the club's website, their new logo and visual identity is "targeting both Bianconeri fans all over the world and those with less of an interest in football."

It will be interesting to see if other clubs decide to follow suit and redesign their traditional logos for a sleeker and more merchandising-friendly style. While the crest looks a bit out of place on the jersey, the club will be looking to make the transition seamless as a variety of fans have already voiced their displeasure over the change.

In the meantime, Juventus have bigger concerns after their 2-1 loss this weekend to Fiorentina as Roma has cut the point difference by three. We'll see if the change in logo and visual identity will help Allegri's side next week as they take on Lazio.

Higuain Seals Juventus Win Against Roma

The top-table clash between Serie A leaders Juventus and second-placed Roma was decided early on by Gonzalo Higuain's brilliant goal as Juventus now sit with a comfortable seven-point lead at the top of the table. The Argentine had looked dangerous with an early chance saved by Szczesny, and on the fifteen-minute mark he managed to steal possession from Daniele De Rossi before dribbling past the Roma defence and blasting the ball into the net.

It was a tough blow for Roma as the lead let Juventus sit and defend comfortably. Luciano Spalletti's choice of starting with Gerson instead of Mohamed Salah soon proved to be a failed experiment as the giallorossi were ponderous in possession. Having ex-Roma playmaker Miralem Pjanic run the clinical one-touch passing of the Juventus counter-attacks only highlighted Roma's lack of midfield spark.

Spalletti replaced Gerson with Salah at the start of the second half but Massimiliano Allegri's halftime team talk had clearly revved up his players for a strong start to the second half. Alex Sandro had a few good runs on the left side after his fairly muted first half, and Mandzukic was proving to be a large a nuisance for the Roma defence. While in the 50th minute Pjanic had to be substituted by Cuadrado due to a thigh problem, Roma was constantly giving possession away with poorly placed passes.

Spalletti eventually took De Rossi off for El Sharaawy in the 72nd minute, shifting to a much more attacking 4-3-3 in a desperate attempt to grab a late equalizer. Roma pressed high up into Juve's half with Naingolann and Strootman cleaning up any Juventus attempts to counter, and the rest of the team working hard as Juventus players tired in the later stages of the match. Roma began to create chances but couldn't find a goal: Perrotti failed to beat Buffon after a nice setup by Salah and Manolas was only inches away from an unsavable diving header.

In the end, the best chances of the second half came for the Juventus midfielder Sturaro but Szczesny was imperious in stopping the Italian's shots. The first chance came when the midfielder was served a pass into the box by Mandzukic's brilliant backheel, and the second was also provided by the Croatian who headed the ball into Sturaro's path towards goal. While Roma finished the second half strong, Spalletti's experiment of leaving Salah out along with Higuain's early goal were both enough to give Juventus the victory.

Now with a seven-point lead ahead of Roma and a nine-point lead ahead of AC Milan, it looks like Juventus might run away with the scudetto yet another season. While the bianconeri performance wasn't perfect, Allegri's team yet again managed to do just enough to win when it really mattered.