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Market Summary
The saying goes 'when it rains, it pours', as that's precisely the analogy to be applied in the crypto space on Wednesday. In a series of unfortunate events, and while not uncommon in the crypto arena, the combined effect led to some volatile action with panic selling the name of the game. Bitcoin was one of the hardest hits, taking the whole Alts complex lower in the process. An additional $35-$40 billion in market capitalization was evaporated, with the total value now around $405 billion.
On one hand, it's a turbulent time to be invested in cryptos as the value of one's holdings keeps decreasing, but at the same time, it's starting to become incredibly opportunistic if one stands positive and has a clear vision on certain projects/assets, as the discounts available are quite significant. That said, the market might continue to see further downside pressure short-term, as catching a falling knife is never advisable. Always do your own due diligence. We will help you stay informed along the way.
Back to the tumultuous market events, in no particular order, we saw a barrage of confusing news, leading to a disorderly sell-off in Bitcoin and other cryptos. Firstly, as Reuters reported, Japan is set to punish various crypto exchanges that fail to comply with the Financial Service Agency's customer protection and anti-money laundering measures, with speculation building up that some may be restricted from normal operations indefinitely. This was a first negative input impacting prices.
What's more, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) published a public statement titled 'Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets', stating that "if a platform offers trading of digital assets that are securities and operates as an "exchange," as defined by the federal securities laws, then the platform must register with the SEC as a national securities exchange or be exempt from registration." While this type of statement will lead to instant confusion and hence panic, the clarification should be perceived as a positive development for investors as the SEC flexes its muscle with the ultimate goal of protecting customers and their assets. if you hear risk of US exchanges shutting down, that's unfounded speculation.
Throw into the mix a temporary drama in Binance as false rumors emerged that the popular exchange had been hacked, although we later learned that trading bots were compromised to sell users' altcoins to buy Viacoin (VIA), hence the spike seen in the crypto asset. One of the moderators on BinanceExchange subreddit wrote: "We are investigating reports of some users having issues with their funds. Our team is aware and investigating the issue as we speak. As of this moment, the only confirmed victims have registered API keys (to use with trading bots or otherwise). There is no evidence of the Binance platform being compromised. Please remain patient and we will provide an update as quickly as possible."
Not enough? We told you, 'when it rains, it pours'. In what has been an ongoing activity over the past 2 months, Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, which acts as the representative to liquidate the defunct exchange's assets, has been reportedly selling as much as $400 million worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, according to a document made public on March 7. But the main takeaway here is that, as CoinDesk suggests, further liquidations might ensue if given approval by the bankruptcy court. "I plan to consult with the court and determine further sale of BTC and BCC," Kobayashi wrote. At the time of writing, over 166k BTC are in possession of the trustee, worth around $1.7b, while holdings of Bitcoin Cash stand just short of $200 million.
* Headlines below are listed in chronological order, as seen in CoinLive News Terminal
Top Headlines Industry / Regulations
- BMW Partners with Circulor, a Blockchain Startup to Track Cobalt Supplies - Circulor is a Blockchain company that tracks legally sourced supplies of cobalt, one of the essential parts of the electric car batteries.
- FinCEN Publishes Letter Stating Financial Regulations Apply to ICOs - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has released a letter stating the money transmitter rules and regulations are applicable to ICOs.
- Coinbase Announces Launch of Index Fund - Coinbase Index Fund will give investors exposure to all digital assets listed on Coinbase’s exchange, GDAX, weighted by market capitalization.
- South Korean Officials Banned from Holding Crypto - Ministry of Personnel Management issued a document entitled "Virtual currency holdings and transaction-related information for civil servants."
- Twitter to Come down Hard on Scams - Twitter has had enough of crypto scams and fake profiles looking to phish innocent users.
- Illinois to Allow Tax Payments via Cryptocurrencies - Illinois legislators are considering a proposal to allow tax payments by cryptocurrencies.
- Webster's Dictionary Adds 'Cryptocurrency,' 'ICO' and 'Blockchain' - Merriam-Webster has announced that they added 850 new words, phrases and new meanings for existing words.
- Mt. Gox Bankruptcy Trustee Liquidates $400M Worth of BTC and BCH Since September - Nobuaki Kobayashi has announced that it has liquidated $400 million worth of BTC and BCH since last September.
- US District Judge: Cryptos Are Commodities - U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn ruled that virtual currencies can be treated as commodities by the CFTC.
- Reddit Co-Founder's VC Firm Invests in Crypto Trading Platform - Reddit co-founder Alex Ohanian's venture-capital firm, Initialized Capital, has reportedly invested $2.1 million in DDEX.
- Serious Developments in Binance. Possible Hack? - Altcoins in various Binance accounts have been sold off at market rate to buy viacoin via an API hack.
- BitMEX Responds to Inquiries About Failed Login Attempts - "We experienced an extreme load spike that caused our session and ratelimit management system to back up."
- SEC Releases Statement on Potentially Unlawful Digital Asset Trading Platforms - "Many online trading platforms appear to investors as SEC-registered and regulated marketplaces when they are not."
- London-based Firm Linked to Laundered BTCs from Mt. Gox Hack - According to BBC Radio 4, a London-based firm called Always Efficient LLP. has been linked to the laundering of 650,000 bitcoins.
Top Headlines Crypto-Asset Fundamentals
- BTC and the NVT Ratio: Tracking Metrics - The latest trend is very interesting as it shows that the NVT ratio in the month of Feb 2018 has been the highest when compared to the data from past 2 years.
- Stellar: Feb 2018 Monthly Roundup - Stellar's Monthly Roundup for Feb 2018 features a lot of interesting updates from the project.
- DashBoost Launches Public Beta of Micro-Treasury System - The Micro-Treasury system which will significantly enhance the infrastructure of the Dash DAO.
- ETC: Weekly Update and a Look at What's Ahead - The ETC team has released an update on the progress made in the last week.
- Introducing MoneyTap: Payment App Powered by Ripple - MoneyTrap is a smartphone application released by The Japan Bank Consortium and powered by the Ripple Technology.
- Lisk to Be Intergrated with Pantos - Mat Piaggi, the community manager at Lisk, announced on Reddit that Lisk is going to be integrated with Pantos.
- Twitter Makes Bitcoin Page Temporarily Restricted - Twitter has promised to come down hard on crypto-related scams and Redditors have noted that the official Bitcoin page itself has been temporarily restricted.
- TRON and BitGuild to Form Collaboration - TRON announced a partnership with BitGuid, a blockchain game platform founded by Jared Psigoda.
- Cardano Launches on Centra - Cardano recently launched on Centra wallet which means that it now a spendable asset.
- Cardano 1.1 Is Released - As promised, the Daedalus 0.9.0 and Cardano 1.1 got released by IOHK today.
- SALT: We Have Funded over $30 Million in Loans - SALT has recently announced that they have funded over $30million in loans in a Twitter post.
- Waltonchain's Lin Herui Becomes VP of Fujian IoT Industry Association - Waltonchain's Project Director, Lin Herui, is elected vice president of the Fujian Province IoT Industry Association.
Key Events on Top Cryptos for Mar 8 (Thur)
- Achain (ACT) - Vietnam Blockchain Week in Ho Chi Minh City
- Aion (AION) - Blockchain Africa Conferences 2018 in Johannesburg
- Aragon (ANT) - EthCC in Paris
- Dash (DASH) - Blockchain Spring School 2018 in Mittweida
- Ethereum (ETH) - EthCC in Paris
- Gnosis (GNO) - EthCC in Paris
- Kyber Network (KNC) - Vietnam Blockchain Week in Ho Chi Minh City
- Litecoin (LTC) - Cobinhood Exchange Listing
- Melon (MLN) - Meetup in Zug
- Nebulas (NAS) - Meetup in New York
- NEM (XEM) - Meetup in Bergamo
- NEO (NEO) - Vietnam Blockchain Week in Ho Chi Minh City
- Nuls (NULS) - Official Website Redesign Publication
- OmiseGO (OMG) - EthCC in Paris
- Pura (PURA) - Aurora Release
- Qtum (QTUM) - Cobinhood Exchange Listing, DC Blockchain Summit 2018 in Washington
- Ripple (XRP) - Blockchain Africa Conferences 2018 in Johannesburg
- SimpleCoin(OST) - Release of the OST KIT⍺.
- SpankChain (SPANK) - EthCC in Paris
- Telcoin (TEL) - Blockchain Africa Conferences 2018 in Johannesburg
- VeChain (VEN) - Global Food Safety Conference in Tokyo
- Waves (WAVES) - Waves will update the token launcher with additional functionality
source: www.coinmarketcal.com
Main Gainers / Losers Top 100 Coins
source www.coinmarketcap.com
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