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Bitcoin price stayed below $5800 mark throughout the day, except for a momentary spike when it peaked at $5873. At the time of writing the cryptocurrency is trading at $5,692 a piece, posting a market cap of $95 billion.
Besides all the Bitcoin Gold fuss, the Bitcoin core team is working on the network upgrade, which would make it capable of handling more transactions than before. It is likely that rival versions of Bitcoins will be smoked out like before, and Bitcoin price will exhibit the same behavior as in the August hard fork.
That said, Bitcoin price could also be sensitive to dollar moves from here as the Trump administration is taking strides in tax reform. The upcoming advance GDP reading could also spur additional volatility, along with Trump’s Fed Chairperson announcement which might happen anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin Cash is continuing its stride – gaining 7% in the 24 hours – and trading at $383 with a market cap of $6.4 billion. Ethereum has once again fallen back to below $300. Altcoin market cap has been on a consistent decline for the past few weeks. It may once again revive after the BTG hard fork. If not, then we may have to wait until the SegWit2x hard fork.
Bitcoin will likely keep trading under $6000 until the fork actually takes place. Based on how the market reacts to BTG, Bitcoin price will fluctuate accordingly – most likely we will witness another rally registering fresh new all-time highs soon after the fork.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. We could soon have a Bitcoin ETF
The crypto community has been waiting for a Bitcoin ETF for a very long time now – 4 years to be precise – and every time we’re told next time it’ll be done. However, this time, things might be looking bright for cryptocurrency traders as a closed-end fund; much similar to ETFs might be underway.
Cathie Wood, chief executive officer of ARK Investment Management, said a Bitcoin ETF will come into play in at least two years, possibly accompanied by a handful of “education.” The proposed Bitcoin fund will allow investors to trade in financial securities tied to bitcoins without necessarily owning bitcoins.
A good thing to know: Closed-ended Fund (CEF) is an investment structure that invests in portfolio securities, and whose shares trade in the open market and they raise capital through initial public offering (IPO). CEFS do not trade shares on the daily and instead do so on an exchange with the market determining its price. So.. CEFs operate similarly to ETFs but are not ETFs.
2. Catalonia considering cryptocurrencies after independence
Now that Catalonia has finally declared independence from Spain, the Catalonian director of the digital office (called SmartCatalonia) has already visited Estonia on a number of occasions in order to understand their digital residency plans.
There is a chance that an independent Catalan government would not have a central bank, instead, choose to have a national cryptocurrency. With Russian and Kazakhstan already suggesting national cryptocurrencies, the move would not come as a huge surprise.
3. ICO fraud requires a thoughtful approach: SEC Enforcement Director
SEC Division of Enforcement co-director, Stephanie Avakian, said that the cyber unit was created to consolidate the regulatory body’s expertise on cybercrime, and include a focus on blockchain technology, particularly initial coin offerings. She said, blockchain needs a “consistent, thoughtful approach.”
“We think that creating a permanent structure for the consideration of these [ICOs] within the Cyber Unit will ensure continued focus on protecting both investors and market integrity in this space.” Avakian added.