Market Update Report Feb.27

In the Bitcoin sector: we reached the price area around $10k. Despite slight dips to the $9000 range, the price remained stable. On the other hand, high volatility was witnessed in the Altcoins sector over the past week. As we have reported in previous market updates, the market seems to be affected by Bitcoin’s trading against the dollar. Two altcoins took over the spotlight this past week: Digix (DGD), which raised 75%, and NEO, which remains stable since the beginning of the year, and rose by a few percentages this week.

After the sharp correction at the beginning of February, since then this month has been a positive once and it seems that the market will continue to recover. More and more banks and regulators are stating their say about crypto. Regulators’ positions in influential countries may have a decisive impact on the crypto markets.

This post was first published on: Feb 27, 2018 

In these past few weeks, it was impossible to avoid market volatility and many day traders were hurt because of that. As can be seen in the short term chart, it is difficult to understand the direction of the market. Hopefully, in the near future, we can determine whether the downward trend is over.

News of the week

• In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, John Rayne, Chief Financial Officer of PayPal, said “Bitcoin is likely to become a popular payment method. However, at this stage, it may not be appropriate as a method of payment for businesses, given its volatility.”
• The payment company, Circle, acquired the Poloniex crypto-exchange. Reports by Fortune claim that Circle paid about $400 million for it.
• Craig Wright, who impersonated Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, had a $10 billion lawsuit filed against him
• Coinbase’s wallet and the GDAX exchange now support Segwit.
• In its annual 10K report, Bank of America expressed concerns of the bank’s profitability with businesses who deal in cryptocurrencies.

News from around the globe

Canada – Toronto-Dominion Bank, one of the largest banks in North America, has announced that it will not allow the purchase of crypto by credit card.

Uzbekistan – President Shavkat Miriyoyev has instructed the relevant authorities (including the central bank and the Ministry of Finance) to draft a law to regulate the legality of crypto in the country. The bill is expected to be published in September.

Europe- After a meeting about digital currencies this week, the European Commission stated its position on a number of issues. A few points it mentioned:

1. Europe should adopt the use of Blockchain due to it’s technological potential.
2. The speculative value of crypto currencies puts investors at risk.
3. ICOs offer financial potential, but lack transparency in the field which creates more risks for investors.

Israel – The Israeli Supreme Court ordered Bank Leumi to allow its customers to trade in Bitcoin through their bank account. They also issued a temporary order prohibiting the bank from pausing the bank account activity of the Israeli crypto trade company, Bits of Gold.

Venezuela – Following the Venezuelan government’s issue of a national crypto currency, it appears that Turkey and Iran also plan on creating their own ICOs.