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Bitcoin price continued the bullish rally and crossed $4200 mark before settling in the support region of just above $4100. Ethereum also joined Bitcoin in upward trend and closed in on the $300 threshold. Altogether, the total crypto market cap added about $3 billion for the day, bringing it a few steps closer to the all-time high it set earlier this month.
The total crypto market cap steadily climbed throughout the remainder of the day and into Thursday morning, eventually peaking at $147.3 billion. However, the market began a sharp decline shortly after reaching this peak, shedding more than $3 billion before settling down to a present value of $143.6 billion.
Overstock’s announcement of an initial coin offering (ICO) exchange that will comply with SEC and FINRA regulations, could be the reason behind Bitcoin’s rally. If Bitcoin price manages to hold above $4000 mark for the next few days, there is a good chance cryptocurrency will challenge its all time high of $5000 very soon.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. Overstock to open exchange for legal token trading
Overstock, the first retail giant to accept Bitcoin as a payment method, announced today that it is launching a first-of-its-kind alternative trading system (ATS) that will provide a platform for the exchange of cryptographic tokens categorized in the U.S. as securities.
It will be a joint venture between majority-owned subsidiary tZero, RenGen (a fintech firm that will serve as the market maker) and Argon Group (an investment bank specializing in ICO capital raising). The ATS will be regulated by both the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, said:
“I think it’s a historic event. We’re opening a new type of capital market.”
Reacting to this news, Overstock’s shares have jumped almost 20 percent at $29.84 – highest since 2014.
2. Two more Bitcoin Futures ETFs are up for SEC approval
ProShares Capital Management, a Maryland-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), firm has filed to launch two new bitcoin futures-based products. It wants to create two bitcoin-tied funds: the ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF.
Unlike previous proposed ETFs, Proshares isn’t planning to buy direct stakes in the cryptocurrency; rather, it intends to create exposure through derivatives contracts.
According to the filing, ProShares is aiming for a maximum aggregate offering price of $1 million, priced at $25 per share, with a plan to have it listed on the NYSE Arca exchange.
Why this matters: Any Bitcoin ETF approval would be a huge deal for the cryptocurrency. This will lead it to the mass adoption everyone has been waiting for.
3. Wolf of Wall Street calls Bitcoin a ‘fraud’
Jordan Belford, another high profile investor agrees with Jamie Dimon. He said, “the biggest problem I see from Bitcoin, and why I would never buy it, is because they can easily steal it from you through hacking. I know people who lost all their money like that.”
Apparently, he also finds it bizarre that Bitcoin is only backed by a program that creates artificial scarcity and said that because of this, the digital currency is not sustainable.