Cryptocurrencies are breaking new price levels this week as markets are seeing gains across the board during the last two weeks of April. Yesterday’s trading sessions saw bitcoin cash touch a high of $1,560 per BCH as the currency has been on a relentless run over the past week. BCH prices are hovering around $1,477 at press time. bitcoin core (BTC) prices touched a high of $9,410 but prices have dipped to the $9,340 range since reaching that vantage point. Overall there are quite a few digital assets seeing more significant gains than BTC as the spring trading season starts to melt the ‘crypto winter’ blues that recently plagued the community.
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The Cryptocurrency Price Reversal Rampage
Digital currencies are seeing significant price reversals just before the month of May approaches. Out of all the 1,590 listed cryptocurrencies on Coinmarketcap, the cumulation of these assets have accumulated a market valuation of $422Bn USD. bitcoin Core (BTC) markets have gained 14.4 percent over the last seven days but many other cryptocurrencies have seen much larger gains. In the top ten positions, some notable increases include EOS, as its markets spiked 53 percent over the past week, while IOTA jumped 31.9 percent. But bitcoin (BCH) markets were the clear winner over the past seven days as BCH weekly prices have increased by 88.3 percent today.
bitcoin Cash Markets Climb Over 88% Over the Last Seven Days
bitcoin cash market volume has quadrupled over the last three weeks as the currency now commands close to $2Bn in 24-hour trade volume. This has propelled BCH into the fourth position in overall trade volume compared to all 1,590 other digital assets. The top five exchanges swapping the most BCH today include Okex, Bitfinex, Upbit, Huobi, and Binance. Fiat volume for bitcoin cash trades continues to rise over the last 48-hours as BTC pairs only account for 35.8 percent of today’s BCH trades. This is followed by the U.S. dollar (27%), tether (USDT 19%), the Korean won (11.3%), and the euro (2.6%). Ethereum pairs represent 1.4 percent of today’s bitcoin cash trades as well.
The top ten cryptocurrency positions on April 24, 2018.
BCH/USD Technical Indicators
Looking at weekly, daily and the 4-hour charts show BCH bulls have been relentlessly charging without much exhaustion. At the time of writing bitcoin cash values are close to more powerful resistance levels in the $1,500 territories. Both the daily and 4-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator overbought conditions. MACd shows it may be heading southbound in the short term as well.
BCH prices are hovering around $1,477 at press time on the exchange Bitstamp. 4-24-18.
The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) both short-term 100 SMA and the long-term 200 SMA have recently crossed paths. The 100 SMA is now above the 200 trend line indicating the path to resistance is on the upside. Order books show some stiff resistance for bulls between the price point now all the way up until the $1,600 region and a little more upwards past $1,700. On the backside some solid foundations have formed between the price level now and $1,400 but after that books begin to look quite thin.
Bitfinex 4-hour BCH/USD with MACd & RSI indicators.
The Top Cryptocurrency Market Performances
Cryptocurrencies, in general, have done well over the last two weeks and the current momentum continues. BTC markets have seen a daily volume increase of $8.8Bn and a $157Bn market capitalization. However many other digital currencies have seen much bigger gains and BTC dominance is down to the 37 percent threshold today. Ethereum (ETH) markets are doing considerably well this week and are up 35 percent over the last seven days. One ETH is averaging around $695 per coin during the April 24 trading sessions. The third largest cryptocurrency valuation held by ripple (XRP) has seen seven-day gains around 37 percent. The market value of XRP today is $0.91 cents and markets command a $1.2Bn 24-hour trade volume. The cryptocurrency EOS has taken over the fifth top market capitalization as its markets have increased significantly this week. One EOS is hovering around $13.42 per token today with a $1.9Bn daily trade volume.
The Verdict: Crypto-Optimism is in the Air
Overall cryptocurrency market participants are extremely pleased with the past week’s runups in value. However, some traders are still skeptical that we are out of the bear market range as there have been a lot of false positive rallies over the last four months. So far the verdict is many traders and digital asset enthusiasts are confident 2018 will be just as spectacular as last year.
Where do you see the price of BCH and other digital assets headed from here? Let us know in the comments below.
Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither .com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.”
Images via Shutterstock, Bitstamp, Trading View, and Coinmarketcap.
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Two countries have recently emerged as the new Meccas for token sales following bans in China and South Korea. The number of initial coin offerings in Singapore and Hong Kong has skyrocketed in recent months, as companies seek a favorable environment to raise funds outside their home countries.
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New Meccas for ICOs
Singapore.
With some countries cracking down on token sales, Hong Kong and Singapore have attracted companies seeking to raise funds through initial coin offerings (ICOs).
According to Fintech businesses, lawyers, and industry groups, the number of companies launching ICOs in Singapore and Hong Kong “has skyrocketed in recent months,” South China Morning Post reported on Monday. The news outlet then quoted Anson Zeall, chairman of the Association of Cryptocurrency Enterprises and Startups Singapore, noting:
We cannot say Singapore has become an ICO hub yet, as more work needs to be done, but yes, there has been a lot of activity since September last year.
Hong Kong.
He and others believe that this is partly due to China’s crackdown on ICOs. “In September, Beijing defined an ICO as an fundraising tool after concerns over financial scams and money laundering. Dozens of ICO platforms in the country have since shut down,” the publication recalled.
While China cracked down on cryptocurrencies and ICOs, Hong Kong remains open to them and has seen significant growth in the number of token sales.
Neither Hong Kong nor currently has specific rules for ICOs. Lawyers and ICO issuers in both cities reiterated to the news outlet that raising funds through digital tokens remains loosely regulated there.
ICOs Moved Out of China
When China mandated domestic ICO issuers to refund investors and stop any new fundraising activities, many of them moved abroad.
Daisy Wu is among those whose companies have turned to Singapore shortly after Beijing’s ban. “We wanted to avoid legal risks,” she was quoted. Her company, the Beijing-based Xender, is now trying to raise US$10 million through an ICO for a file-sharing service, the news outlet detailed. Wu confirmed:
Many Chinese companies have gone to Singapore for ICOs…We all want to play it safe.
Ben Yates, a lawyer with RPC specializing in fintech and cyber law, said that he has seen significant growth in ICO-related inquiries since September, elaborating:
It is very likely that the surge in the number of ICO inquiries we have received in the past few months is at least partly a consequence of the restrictions in mainland China…The obvious next step for many Chinese ICO issuers to take is to cross the border. You can still speak Chinese, but you can operate in a more favourable regulatory environment.
Korean Fever & Bithumb’s ICO
South Korea also in September of last year, forcing local issuers to look elsewhere. They have also reportedly into Hong Kong and Singapore recently.
“Some argue that there is no legal basis for an ICO ban in Korea, but the authorities say that current laws alone are sufficient,” Money Today Network noted.
Earlier this month, news.bitcoin.com that corporations in South Korea are attempting to bypass regulations using subsidiaries overseas to launch their ICOs.
Last week, local media reported that Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges, is planning to launch a “Bithumb Coin” ICO through a Singaporean corporation. Another South Korean startup, Zikto, is also reportedly preparing an ICO in Singapore.
What do you think of Hong Kong and Singapore as the hubs for ICOs? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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From the point of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that was being headed by Gary Gensiern during the Obama administration, the main feature distinguishing bitcoin from the rest of cryptocurrency wagon despite its relatively highest market price, is that bitcoin was never issued through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and has a decentralized network of developers thus it ultimately cannot be classified as security.
On the other hand, its two archrivals Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) have been sold by their creators and purchased primarily as investments for speculative reasons and therefore were deemed as ‘’noncompliant securities’ by regulators, which means that according to delivered statement ICOs eventually must comply with securities, commodities and derivatives laws in the U.S. and around the globe. Such a determination could subject a wide swath of industry members to legal penalties and once again lead to nothing but growing regulators’ involvement in the crypto-space.
Clearly none could be surprised that Gary Gensiern was the one who bring a question of crypto being securities on agenda. After working at Goldman Sachs, Gensler served as one of the top financial regulators in President Obama’s administration, as well as the finance chief for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. The New York Times reports that Gensler will be joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to teach a course on Blockchain, both lecturing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, as well as being a special advisor to the Media Lab, which contains the Digital Currency Initiative.
During his talk at the MIT Technology Review Business of Blockchain, Gary Gensiern went down on Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) saying:
“Because bitcoin came into existence as mining began as an incentive in validating a distributed platform. No initial token offerings, no pre -mined coins, no kind of common enterprise under that Howey Test. But what about ether and ripple? And you can go down. I’m not trying to pull these out, it’s just these are the big five. These all seem to have attributes of that Howey Test. Was money given over in 2014 for ether, bitcoin for ether? Was money given to ripple every month they sell another bit of it out of the escrow?”
Nevertheless, Gensler ended up denying that Ethereum can be considered any kind of security because for as long as three years of its function, it has achieved a more decentralized development structure and it has a greater chance of evading the “noncompliant securities” label than XRP and most ICOs.
XRP, in turn, was created by San Francisco-based blockchain startup Ripple, and the company used to issue tokens at its own discretion through sales, grants, and other centralized means. Ripple has repeatedly claimed that XRP is not a security, though cryptocurrency exchange operator and brokerage firm Coinbase has suggested that it does not believe there is regulatory certainty that prevents it from listing the token and so does Gary Gensiern.
In response to Gensler’s claims, Ripple spokesperson Tom Channick told The New York Times that XRP is not a security because it “does not give its owners and interest or stake in Ripple, and they are not paid dividends. XRP exists outside of Ripple, was created before the company and will exist after it.”
In the meanwhile, Gary Gensiern concluded that blockchain technology will eventually change the traditional financial system, but not without some adjustments in the crypto sphere. He believes ongoing year will bring a reckoning for the cryptocurrency industry, as regulators continue to take a more proactive role in regulating ICOs and other token sales that allegedly constitute unregistered securities offerings in order to protect investors and prosecute fraud.
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