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Price momentum, market sentiment, and continued advancement of the exchange sector are analysed to determine the monthly value of the crypto index. These qualifiable indicators are the market factors that determine the crypto market. A proprietary formula based on quantified data on blockchain transactions, search traffic, and moving averages is used to calculate the market index which ranges from highly bearish to highly bullish.

 

Bitcoin and Ethereum take the lead in the Crypto market

The bears hit the brake pedal moments before the market closed and the bull swept across the crypto market. Bitcoin Core touched a new high going up by around 5%. This is its highest price for Bitcoin before the big fall in November 2018.

The world’s biggest digital coin recovered and moved with a strong bullish trend. Bitcoin SV remained relatively flat and it seems to have found a bottom.

Ethereum pushed over the declining trendline that developed in April. The second largest cryptocurrency by market capital was the real riser of the pack. It was up by 11% with turnover rising considerably. Though it pulled back slightly, Ethereum was the best performing cryptocurrencies out of the top-20 pack. Traders are suggested to consider short-term positions in the market using strict risk management rules, as the long-term setups in the segment remain negative.

Tezos and Maker demonstrated strong positive momentum and gained over 7%. The 10th digital asset Cardano did well with 5% of gains. Some currencies were slower to rise thought the increase was across the board. The third largest coin, Ripple, exhibited about only 2.5% increase.

 

What caused the bullish wave?

Price momentum, infrastructure development, and institutional interest, the three fundamentals that drive the bullish signals were present for several months. Despite the instability at the beginning of April crypto rally, the market was primarily driven by one large buy order rather than fundamentals.

Crypto is continuing on a positive trajectory, self-determining its stand in the market that is seeing more of temporary surges. Data interpreters believe that there is no need to worry over market sentiments such as FOMO crushing crypto in the event of an abrupt and unexpected rally.

 

Things weren’t looking up for the BTC market after it surged up to $5,900 and then closed at a low of $5,650. However, many cryptocurrencies have been able to defy this trend and climb high despite it, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) being one of them.

In fact, traders have now come to believe that BCH may actually yield better short term trade results than BTC. They are of the opinion that the BCH hasn’t reached its fullest price potential yet and the evaluation shall only climb higher in the days to come.

BCH Trading Upwards of 5.3%

Bitcoin Cash has witnessed a surge of over 5%, currently trading at $293.51 from its lows of $275.

Bitcoin Cash has reaped the benefits of the recent crypto market surge. It had been trading at around $170 in early April from where it rose to $336.

Perhaps this price action indicates a new trading range being facilitated. It does have stellar support around the $249 mark and resistance in the lower -$300 region.

What do Crypto Analysts have to say?

Cryptocurrency analyst, Keshav Naria, explained on Twitter that he believes BCH is growing bullish with the passing day and shall witness another price surge soon enough which could drive it to the height of $340 before it becomes subject to any selling pressure.

Another established crypto trader expressed that he has been closely observing the movements of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to check if they can reclaim support at 0.0525, which is upwards of the price at which it is currently running – 0.0508.

Conclusion

The current price movement of BCH has spurred crypto trade analysts to believe that BCH can steal a march over BTC in the crypto trading sphere. Bitcoin has actually been experiencing a period of stability, residing in the $5,000 region but not going up all the way to $6,000 due to insufficient buying pressure on the crypto. Traders and market analysts are on high alert to see whether BCH can surge past its resistance level. They believe it can. Only the coming weeks will foretell.

 

The cryptocurrency market is dominated by Bitcoin. However, there are other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin that deserve due attention too. The term altcoin refers to any alternative currency in the crypto market that isn’t BTC. Once BTC tasted success, the market was aflush with several altcoins. Different peer-to-peer currencies were launched with hopes of replicating Bitcoin’s success.

Can Altcoins Outshine BTC?

Market stakeholders believe that the surge of Bitcoin cannot be matched. People are now extremely skeptical about the crypto-space in general and think the altcoins will bear the brunt of this skepticism. Industry guru, Tommy Lee has expressed hope that altcoins will surge up this year. He believes that altcoins hold the potential to surpass Bitcoin market value in the future. The value of BTC has taken a nosedive since its record high of 20,000 USD. Altcoins will most definitely reap some advantage here. The question really is which currency will replace Bitcoin at the top? Will it be Litecoin or will Ethereum steal the march in the running?

Altcoins are Often Dependent on the Value of BTC

The value of different altcoins are near the value of Bitcoin but very soon it might increase as an increasing number of people are beginning to invest in it. It’s because, when compared to BTC, they are far more reliable and not as subject to fluctuations.

BTC’s initial escalation of value has egged other altcoins to depend on it for value.

Internet Integration

Internet integration is the final goal of all altcoins so operations become smoother. The role the Internet plays contributes a good amount to the market worth of altcoins. For this very reason, people who trade with BTC are often hesitant and exchange the currency in trusts like the Bitcoin Investment Trust.

Summary

Some 800 cryptocurrencies that were in existence are practically worthless now. Initially, there were 1600 altcoins in the digital industry. Inaurguably, the crypto market scares away many investors. Altcoin’s future can be greatly impacted by the decentralization debate and privacy concerns surrounding BTC. However, the fast rate of adoption of blockchain technology indicates good tidings for the market at large. Crypto-companies have been successful in amassing 11.9b USD in digital currency – only going to testify how open the world is to adopting it as part of everyday transaction.

The future is bright for altcoins. Its value stability and feasibility holds much potential for it.

 

1. Christopher Giancarlo, chair of CFTC testified before the US House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. He said that the clearinghouses under the regulation of his agency are a critical singular point of risks is the global financial picture and they continue to grow and develop as per complexity. The US CFTC is optimistic that it will witness more companies choosing to become federally-okayed clearinghouses due to the thriving interest in cryptocurrencies.

What exactly are these clearinghouses?

Financial institutions that facilitate financial transactions between two parties are referred to as clearinghouses. Their job is to act as intermediaries and oversee the workings of these entities and assess any issues that may interfere with their ability to regulate their own risks. Giancarlo reaffirmed the importance of these assessments in his speech. He stated that these tests are a good measure of overall financial stability.

Some notable clearinghouses

LedgerX, the crypto derivative provider already doubles up as a clearinghouse. Other platforms like Bakkt and ErisX have been waiting patiently to hear back from the CFTC regarding their applications. The applications were filed to become derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs), which is a necessary designation required before you can function as a clearinghouse.

More from Giancarlo’s speech

Giancarlo also appealed to CFTC’s Fintech research hand – LabCFTC – to keep up with technological advancements.

The chairman underlined that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are both rapidly growing sectors. It was thanks to the LabCFTC that the regulator could prepare for some of the ongoing development and intimate them as to how to proceed best given the circumstances.

The CFTC has been successful in independently analyzing market data without resorting to the help of any market intermediaries and self-regulatory organizations.

It has also been able to predict the importance of technological innovations, putting forward the example of crypto-asset-based futures products.

What next?

LedgerX, ErisX, Seed CX and Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt have all decided to provide physically-settled bitcoin futures and so on, right from when they achieve all requisite regulatory approvals. CME and Cboe had both made announcements of their plans to launch cash-settled futures products towards the end of 2017.

The only thing to do now is to wait and see what becomes of these plans. One thing is for sure – cryptocurrency is not slowing down its pace of growth anytime soon. Companies have found a way to capitalize on this for their own profits and why shouldn’t they?

A new DeFi app now intends to boost liquidity in the crypto-market by offering interest on your coins.

Alkemi, Techstar’s blockchain cohort via CEO Ryan Breen revealed a crypto liquidity pool deal of $16 million from industry vets – Alex Friedberg of BXB Capital and chairman of the data network Shyft, Joseph Weinberg. Their objective is to create a system of liquidity for exchanges. They want to make available a fund for service providers to avail when demand outstrips supply.

Weinberg believes that it will solve inter-settlement lag having drawn a comparison with Alkemi’s model to that of BTC-oriented solutions such as Liquid. He said that the general liquidity in space over time due to the reduction in fee rate results in a faster rate of execution.

The protocol to be followed by Alkemi will allows users to connect their personal wallets with a smart contract by a mobile app. It will work on the same fundamental as an app connected to a savings account of a bank which lets exchanges use these funds in settlements enabling the users to decide their own lockup timeframes. However, don’t think of this as a loan. It is more of a virtual deposit with the users retaining private key custody.

Breen stated that the reason they went ahead with Ethereum first is because the majority of token issuance has been noticed in it.

The app is scheduled to be launched by 2020. It has to be first cleared by security audits. It will support flat-backed Stablecoins, Bitcoin, XRP and several other assets. It fits snugly into the DeFi scheme of things with smart contracts experimenting with utility and efficiency or assets which fall under self custody.

Some popular DeFi projects so far

Dharma – the loans startup, UniSwap – the token exchange platform and MakerDAO i.e. associated with ethereum-backed DAI stablecoin make up the most notable DeFi projects in existence uptil now. DAI has not been able to manage its dollar peg over the past couple months and has had loan prices climbing upwards. DeFipulse.com reflects upward of $332 million cryptocurrency tied up in Dharma and Maker loans.

Breen admitted that liquidity in the sector often poses a problem. By virtue of it being decentralized currency, the idea is that the concentration of wealth is separated. At the same time, liquidity demands the wealth remain concentrated. The crypto sector stands to benefit handsomely if only this paradox could be solved.

The cryptocurrency market developed as a nascent space indulged in by tech-insiders. However, it has been making giant strides of late even becoming incorporated into pop culture. Now footwear manufacturing giant Nike wants to delve into the cryptosphere. It has filed an application with the USPTO i.e. the United States Patent and Trademark Office to patent the phrase “Cryptokicks”.

Nike’s intentions expand beyond simply offering crypto-themed apparel. The applicated submitted states that the company also wishes to provide a marketplace for traders of digital currency assets.

Not much is known yet about the direction Nike wants to take. However, Nike has said that it wants to offer information associated to “crypto-collectible customization”. It cannot be ascertained at this very instance if Nike is referring to the introduction of a crypto-themed product range.

Nike plans to construct a website with technology to facilitate the mining, storage, earning, purchase, reception and transfer blockchain-reliant tokens, cryptocurrencies, coins and other such crypto assets.

Lawyer Comments on Nike’s Move

The founder of an established law firm, Josh Gerben tweeted recently about Nike’s trademark application and explained that it seems to be an appeal for developing a new brand of cryptocurrency. He presents the part where Nike states its wish to provide a digital currency or digital token that can be used by members of an on-line community with the help of a global computer network as evidence for his argument.

And Nike isn’t the Only Pop Culture Figure

Rapstar Lil Pump recently decided to accept Bitcoin as payment for purchasing his branded merchandise on the online store affiliated to him. Interest in cryptocurrency has been ripe in the pop culture space with popular artists like Eminem and Soulja Boy referencing Bitcoin in some of their most popular songs.

A movie titled “Crypto” also made it to the theatres. It starred big Hollywood names like Luke Hemsworth, Kurt Russell and others. The movie failed to leave a mark but the titling of it only goes to show how digital assets are entering public imagination slowly and surely. Digital and decentralized technologies have been thought to be the future anyway. Perhaps, these are moves that indicate a more widescape adoption of these existing technologies. Cryptocurrency is no longer the domain of Silicon Valley professionals and tech geeks. It has, afterall, begun to find itself a place in pop culture – the entry point to popular imagination.

 

The price of most cryptocurrencies fell after Bitcoin experienced a drop in its price. At last count, Binance coin, Litecoin, and Cardano have experienced the sharpest dip in value. The price of BNB dropped 7.62%, that of Cardano fell 7.37% and LTC faced a 6.93% tumble.

Let’s take a look at how each of these cryptocurrencies was impacted by the drop in BTC’s valuation individually below –

Binance Coin/BNB

At the time of going to press, BNB dropped by 7.62% over the past day and continued its downward journey by 0.92% in the confines of the past hour. The crypto coin was pegged at $22.99 with a market ceiling of $3.24 billion. Over the past week, it managed to chart growth of 20.39% with a 24-hour trading volume $296 million. It registered high trade on Binance by way of BNB/USDT and BNB/BTC pairing.

Cardano/ADA

ADA fell by 7.37% over the past 24 hours and then continued falling 1.93% within an hour. Valued at $0.0723, it had a market cap of $1.87 billion. It had fallen by a whopping 12.29% over the last week and then registered a 24-hour trading volume of $92 million. The crypto coin witnessed high trade via ADA/USDT pair on ZBG exchange. The pair was able to register an amount of $37 million. It was traded most on Binance next.

Litecoin/LTC

LTC fell by 6.93% over the last day and was valued at $75.96 at the time of going to press. Over the past hour, it further plunged by 4.59% and a total of 2.56% over the last week. The coin was highly traded by the LTC/BTC pair on Coinall, Coineal, and DOBI Exchange.

To sum up

Bitcoin’s drop in valuation spurred the price drop of various cryptocurrencies. However, three crypto coins ended up facing most of the brunt of this price drop. These coins were – Cardano, LTC and Binance coin. The value for each of them fell significantly low. The article also specifies which trading platforms they earned the highest trades on. Cryptocurrencies are, by nature, interlinked to each other. So a price drop for one holds immense potential to effect a price drop for others as well. In such a climate, it is important to keep a close eye on the valuations for every crypto asset under the sun. Doing so only enables easier and more intelligent trade-offs, which wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Crypto bears are still arguing that BTC is yet to hit rock bottom but analysts all across the cryptoverse are convinced that Bitcoin can’t fall any lower than the $3,100 mark it has reached for this cycle.

Well-known crypto analyst and trader Jonny Moe recently explained in a three-part Twitter thread why the bottom for BTC is in. He explained to his 15,000 strong followings that BTC is about to cross its first 20-day and 200-day simple moving average (MA) since October 2015, which is when the crypto market was on its way back to recovery and charting all-time highs.

Jonny isn’t the only analyst that believes BTC has broken past resistance and now holds incredible potential to rally higher and not pullback drastically off-highs. Jonny explains the 20-200 crossover as a faster version of the more acclaimed 50-200. The golden 50-200 crossover may also be in reach in the coming weeks if the BTC and other cryptocurrencies fail to continue their bullish momentum. The analyst believes this is what is a sure indication that the bottom could really be here for BTC.

Moe wasn’t the first to have popularized the belief that December’s collapse was the very worst possible instance that could have happened in the current cycle.

BTC Bottoming at $3,100 is very probable

Ethereum World News had previously reported that a team member at crypto exchange startup Level, Josh Rager had recently claimed that $3,100 could very probably be BTC’s bottom for two reasons –

The first, because, retail investors had many buy orders in the $1,800-$3,000 range because of analysts who called for further lows indicating that $3,100 could really be the bottom. It is based on the theory that going against the crowd is more favorable than going with the crowd in the market.

The second theory highlights that $3,100 is an attractive investment point for institutional players and individuals with high-net-worth. In the process, making it unlikely that BTC would fall beyond that level. The theory makes sense when volumes on the CME’s Bitcoin futures contract breaching incredible highs in the current bear market are considered.

So, are the analysts right or are crypto bears more aware – have we seen the end of BTC’s drop yet or will it plunge even further? We shall find out in a couple of weeks or two.

 

Go over any crypto news publication right now and you will find it detailing how China is exercising a blanket ban on Bitcoin mining. It isn’t the first time the superpower has come down hard on trying to clamp down on virtual currency. The price of BTC, as a result, has remained largely unaltered.

However, most interesting to note is the possibility that the ban could actually profit the cryptocurrency. How? The most commonly repeated critiques of BTC include that its mining operation is overly centralized in China and that it is too reliant on dirty energy from fossil fuels. The Chinese ban could change this.

What is the ban about?

China is currently toying with the idea of enforcing a blanket ban on crypto mining. It has been added to a list drawn up in 2011 that the National Development and Reform Commission seeks to phase out. Reuters reports that the reasons for restricting such industries from functioning are the volume of resources consumed, public safety and level of pollution affected.

As of yet, it hasn’t been decided how such a ban is to be enforced or even within which date. All that is certain is that the public has been granted time till May 7 to make any comments on the proposed changes.

China has been known to flex its muscles towards crypto operations. The country has always had a hot-and-cold relationship with the crypto-sphere in general. So the recent news hasn’t ruffled any feathers in the crypto space and has in fact largely been met with indifference. When the country has gone after crypto assets in recent memory, the price of these digital assets has fallen down. An example would be when the nation had banned its citizens from investing in ICOs in September 2017. The price was hit hard for the time being. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case this time around. The price of BTC has continued to be valuably denoting to its recent surge in price.

If China is indeed able to enforce such a ban effectively, it would be intriguing to note how mining operations are decentralized and how the environmental impact of BTC mining is changed.

So far BTC has been critiqued for having a majority of its mining operations in China, possibly compromising security for the network. Now, BTC would be able to redress this and distribute their operations across the globe.

 

Bidding is underway to buy the Nexon (NXC) business empire. Two consortiums have emerged as frontrunners – one led by game developer Netmarble and another, by South Korean internet giant Kakao Group. Cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp and Korbit find pride of place in NXC’s holdings. Bitstamp is Europe’s oldest platform and Korbit is one among the country’s big four exchanges.

Chinese giant Tencent continues to be interested in acquiring the empire too. It consists of babycare and gaming brands. As for NXC’s asking price, it remains in the 8.8 billion USD range. Despite this, the Netmarble and Kakao led consortiums are expected to be in the leading.

When the initial details of the sale had emerged back in January, reports had informed that Kakao, Tencent and Tencent might infact be potential buyers.

If Kakao is successful in its endeavor, it will head a vast crypto-and-blockchain business network. It has made significant investments into Dunamu prior to this. Dunamu operates the Upbit exchange i.e. another big four trading platform. Kakao also operates Ground X, its very own blockchain subsidiary that has developed the Klaytn platform. If rumors are to be believed, the company plans to introduce its own token someday that it will integrate with the Kakao Pay e-pay platform as well as its online banking services.

Netmarble is no less keen on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Infact, media reports believe that it may launch a Netmarble Coin sometime in the future.

In other news –

Korbit has shut its American business arm down. It had planned to carve its own space in the North American crypto-sphere through Korbit USA but the long bear market and shrinking market has forced it to cancel any such plans. Korbit USA was launched soon after NXC had completed its Korbit takeover in 2017.

A spokesperson speaking on behalf of NXC to the media said that although they’ve shut down Korbit USA, they have no plans of selling the main exchange platform.

Bitstamp’s American subsidiary has been winning on the other hand, with a newly acquired BitLicense i.e. trading permit from New York state’s financial regulator – the Department of Financial Services.

The DFS has declared that Bitstamp USA is permitted to buy and sell Bitcoins and Altcoins, transfer funds onto the Ripple network, issue Ripple Balances in USD, other cryptocurrencies as well as other foreign currencies such as yen, euros, Swiss francs and so on.