Markets

By CCN.com: Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been waiting for the launch of bitcoin futures trading platform Bakkt. Recently, the crypto community rejoiced as the ICE-operated company announced the official launch date of Sept. 23. Within 48 hours after the big reveal, bitcoin surged by 10 percent.Many investors know that the entry of Bakkt in the cryptocurrency space is bullish for the long-term health of bitcoin. However, very few understand the reasons why. If you’re not one of them,...

By CCN.com: Bitcoin raged back into a bull market in 2019, leaving the rest of the cryptocurrency market in the dust.  While bitcoin is up 178 percent this year alone, Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM), are down more than 15 percent. Despite desperate hopes of an ‘altseason’ surge, most altcoins remain stagnant while bitcoin’s dominance has gone from strength to strength, currently sitting at 71 percent according to Messari. One chart, created by on-chain analyst Willy Woo, perfectly...

By CCN.com: The privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash has fallen by nearly 15 percent this week as Bitcoin’s dominance approaches 70 percent. According to CoinMarketCap, Zcash was trading at slightly over $66 seven days ago but is now just under $56, a decline of approximately 15 percent that forced its market cap below $400 million. Zcash has declined by nearly 15% in the last seven days | Source: TradingViewAmong the leading 30 altcoins by market cap, Zcash’s decline is only eclipsed by...

Crisis in Argentina grips the headlines today. The Argentine peso (ARS) collapsed 30 percent in a matter of minutes yesterday while the stock market caved 48 percent before recovering. Bitcoiners quickly jumped on the narrative to promote the world’s dominant cryptocurrency. Many claimed that bitcoin was “surging” in Argentina while others encouraged locals to “find safety” in bitcoin. Bitcoin is surging in Argentina, trading at ~$12,300 on @buenbit, a premium versus ~$11,400 on...

More than a decade into its existence, Bitcoin is finally maturing into a full-blown stock market hedge.That’s the conclusion of new research from crypto prime dealer SFOX, which indicates that Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum have developed a negative correlation with the S&P 500. This means that as the stock market bellwether index falls, the prices of the cryptocurrencies rise – and vice versa.Over the past 30 days, Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500 was...

While Coinbase is still the place many Americans go for their first cryptocurrency purchase, another crypto exchange has them backpedalling. As the Malta-based exchange Binance continues its rise to the top, Coinbase is making moves to ensure they don’t become “Yahoo!” to Binance’s “Google.”The San Francisco-based platform just announced that they’re looking to add eight new coins to their exchange. In a recent blog post, Coinbase stated that they’re considering adding the following...

Ben Brown Ben is a journalist with a decade of experience covering financial markets. Based in London, UK, his writing has appeared in The Huffington Post and he was Chief Editor at Block Explorer, the world's longest-running source of Blockchain data. Reach him at benjamin-brown.uk, Twitter at _Ben_Brown or MuckRack. Email ben @ benjamin-brown.uk.

The founder and CEO of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has dismissed concerns that Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency Libra could dominate the world at the expense of China and its tech firms, Sina reports.Noting that countries have more power compared to internet firms, Zhengfei stated that China could issue its own digital currency that would rival Libra:China can also issue such a currency by itself. Why wait for others to issue it? The power of a country is always...

Switzerland crypto laws have appealed to blockchain enthusiasts for years. Facebook’s head of blockchain, David Marcus, is no exception. He released a statement announcing that he expects the new coin to be governed by Swiss law.“Because the (Libra) Association is headquartered in Geneva, it will be supervised by the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA). We have had preliminary discussions with FINMA and expect to engage with them on an appropriate regulatory framework for...

By CCN.com: Owners of “whale wallets” scooped up 450,000 BTC as the bitcoin market hit bear-market lows in late 2018. It appears whales now control 25% of all BTC.Is this good or bad for bitcoin?Whales are smart moneyThese private, non-institutional buyers decided an 85 percent decline was a buying opportunity.The market sent BTC prices higher.Now they hold bitcoin, hoping to exploit the law of supply and demand. By hoarding coins, liquidity dries up, theoretically forcing prices...