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In the early hours of Monday, the bulls managed to take Bitcoin price up to $11,660 before the sell-off pushed it back towards $11,300. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $11,314 at a market cap of $191 billion.
While the downside looks more likely in the short term, but in the broader scheme of things, Bitcoin price has stabilized in a wide range. Mick Sherman, CEO of Hercules Tech, said, “After the recent market crash, it seems that the madness is finally dying down. Many people are still in the red after investing in Bitcoin from 12-20k. This is generally a very healthy thing. Market corrections generally weed out weak traders who cannot stomach hefty losses”.
According to the experts, less volatility and more regulation will do good to the cryptocurrency universe, helping to weed out bad actors. It is important to note that Bitcoin transaction volumes have hit a two-year low, despite rock-bottom fees and after the release of support for SegWit technology by Bitcoin Core and exchanges Coinbase and Bitfinex in February, faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions appear to interest investors less than overall trading potential.
On the upside, BTC/USD needs to get back above $11,500, to gain bullish momentum. From the longer-term perspective, the bulls have to take the coin above $12,000 and $12,500.
In the altcoin world, Ripple has spiked 18% once again amid Coinbase integration rumors. Soon after the pump, Coinbase rejected rumors saying:
“A committee of internal experts is responsible for determining whether and when new assets will be added to the platform in accordance with our framework. These individuals — and all employees at Coinbase – are subject to confidentiality and trading restrictions.
As of the date of this statement, we have made no decision to add additional assets to either GDAX or Coinbase. Any statement to the contrary is untrue and not authorized by the company.”
All the other major cryptocurrencies continue to trade sideways following Bitcoin’s lead.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. Coinbase faces consumer class-action lawsuit
A class action lawsuit was filed against San Francisco-based Coinbase in recent days in the US Court for the Northern District of California, claiming the leading US cryptocurrency exchange unlawfully kept cryptocurrencies that were sent by email and left unclaimed for years.
Plaintiffs Timothy G. Faasse and Jeffrey Hansen are US residents and filed the complaint on behalf of themselves and others who are estimated to be in thousands, all of whom are being represented by Restis Law in San Diego.
William R. Restis of the law firm that bears his name said:
“These types of issues are simply growing pains for a maturing industry that is moving into the mainstream. Coinbase’s failure to deliver was likely an oversight. Hopefully, this lawsuit spurs the company to quickly make things right.”
2. South Korea’s largest messaging app plans ICO
Kakao Corp, operator South Korea’s largest messaging platform KakaoTalk, is set establish a subsidiary focused on blockchain technology coinciding with the launch of Kakao’s own ICO.
Tentatively dubbed ‘Kakao Blockchain’, the new subsidiary will focus on developing blockchain solutions although it is unclear what the business plan is or where the company’s focus would lie. Kakao Corp is planning to announce a concrete roadmap to outline its plans in a press conference on March 20th.
With an estimated 93% of South Korea’s population using KakaoTalk as their preferred messaging platform, the launch and usage of Kakao Coin are certain to be followed keenly in a jurisdiction that continues to outlaw ICOs to this day.
3. US Marshall to auction nearly $25 million worth of seized Bitcoin
The US Marshals Service has announced that it will be auctioning off approximately 2,170 Bitcoins seized in the course of various federal criminal, civil, and administrative cases.
The auction will take place on March 19, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. Bidders who wish to participate must fulfill the registration requirements by noon EDT March 14, complete with a $200,000 deposit.
The bitcoins will be offered in 14 different blocks: two blocks of 500 BTC, 11 blocks of 100 BTC, and one block of approximately 70 BTC. Winning bidders will be notified privately the same day as the auction.