By Over the weekend Bitcoin went through a roller coaster ride – the prices plunged from $7300 to $5600 because of miners and businesses supporting Bitcoin Cash – but now it seems that Bitcoin is heading towards a recovery mode.
The cancellation of the SegWit2x hard fork led to a significant transfer of capital from Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash. The decline was so steep that Bitcoin price dropped almost $2000, while Bitcoin Cash gained 250% and registered an all-time high of $2426.
This rapid surge in market valuation led to market turbulence and uncertainty, as a relatively large portion of investors initiated a sell-off of Bitcoin.
However, beginning Monday, the Bitcoin price initiated an $800 rally that has returned it to a present value of $6462. The largest cryptocurrency now has a market cap of $107.5 billion, which account for approximately 542.4 of the total crypto market cap.
Bitcoin Cash price, on the other hand, plunged back to as low as $1136, but at the time of writing, it has gained nearly 15% in the past 24 hours and is trading at $1348 a piece.
Many analysts believe that Bitcoin Cash rally was the result of market manipulation by large stakeholders. According to reports, several major Bitcoin investors including Roger Ver (aka Bitcoin Jesus) sold billions of dollars in Bitcoin and allocated the majority of those funds to Bitcoin Cash. Consequently increasing the price of Bitcoin Cash in South Korea the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume behind Bitfinex.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. Bitcoin mining crackdown in China continues
The Chinese government is in no mood reverse their anti-Bitcoin stance. According to a local report, the cheap hydroelectric power being used by the largest Chinese Bitcoin mining facilities may soon be a thing of the past.
Sichuan Electric Power Company has issued a circular indicating that it will no longer provide the necessary power from its grid-connected hydropower stations. The circular also suggests that Bitcoin mining is ‘illegal operation.’
Why it matters: Although, this story is not yet confirmed if it turns out to be true, Bitcoin Cash could suffer some serious decline in price. This is because most of the miners that support BCH are based out of China.
WhalePanda tweeted, “I don’t know what % miners this affects, but it will mostly be miners that were switching over to BCash anyway. This in combination with competitors for Bitmain is great news for decentralization.”
2. CME Bitcoin futures could launch in December
Chairman and CEO of CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, has revealed when futures contracts should be ready for purchase. In an interview with CNBC, he said, “I think sometime in the second week of December you’ll see our contract out for listing,”
On October 31, CME Group broke the news that it would be permitting futures trading on Bitcoin, which led to a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin. The group has also confirmed that Bitcoin would be traded in $25 increments and would have a swing of no more than 20% above or below the previous settlement price.
3. Iran’s central bank will study all aspects of Bitcoin
The Central Bank of Iran’s deputy director of innovative new technologies, Nasser Hakimi, has said that the authority will examine all aspects of Bitcoin as a part of its research agenda, highlighting “uncertainty and high risk” price fluctuations as a major concern.
The central bank will then follow up its study with a complete review of its policies on cryptocurrencies. Hakimi also added:
“Given that bitcoin and other currencies have not been introduced by the central bank as the official currency, as well as the risk of buying it and the activity of traders in this field, we want investors and people to follow precautions that are coming into the market, due to the possibility of malice.”