We are back again with our monthly refresh of all things crypto. The aim is to bring you a weeks’ worth of cryptocurrency news in a bitesize format and as the World Cup is on we appreciate that time is precious. It’s been an active last few months with more volatility with so sign of a let-up so a sound understanding of the fundamental drivers is important if you are thinking of starting or continuing to invest.
Coinrail experiences major hack
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This is the main piece of news that shot around the world earlier this month. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail experienced an estimated $40 Million hack and its exactly this criminal activity that has caused the plummeting market which we have witnessed this week. The onset results are that many currencies have reached two monthly lows, with crucial resistance points breached. The fact is most still are strongly pegged to Bitcoin and feel the pinch and squeeze. Litecoin is at one of its lowest points for several months, now in double figures for the first time this year.
The European Union discuss cryptocurrency
The EU Commission has announced held an open and at times combative session yesterday (18/06) during which they answered questions about their stance on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Now, this isn’t just another empty cryptocurrency conference where people to pretend to know more than they do. This is important because the EU has the same policy-making power as the USA in terms of affecting the global economy and the power to affect 20+ nations in one go. Positive legislation and reports from the EU will be very welcome to the global cryptocurrency community.
Coinbase welcome Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic became the next cryptocurrency to be listed on Coinbase. As expected the news gave Coinbase a wider demographic and mass of clients to be exposed to and Ethereum classic got a 25% price boom to reflect the potential exposure. No doubt more of the top 20 by market cap will be pushing to get on the exchange.
Binance strategically shift operations to Jersey
One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance announced that they will be shifting some of their operations to Jersey, a small tax haven situated in the Channel Islands, just off the south coast of the UK. A strong sign of commitment to long-term strategy as well as some sophisticated “tax efficiency” no doubt This helps increase the profile of the UK and Europe for crypto and will help the local economy. More can be read about it in the local press here.
Tether implicated in market price manipulation
A damming conclusion about the so-called “stable coin” Tether (which is supposed to be linked to the US dollar) from the University of Texas speculated Tether could have been used to help move the price of Bitcoin around. According to the study, during periods of large Bitcoin movements over Christmas 2017 and new year 2018, Tether shows patterns of being spent on Bitcoin in large amounts. Therefore, there seems to be a direct correlation between Bitcoin price movements and Tether spending volumes, on Bitcoin especially. The was valid enough to make global headlines.
The study, by John M. Griffin and Amin Shams from the University of Texas Department of Finance, published last week, can be found here.
Western Union give denial about inclusive of crypto technology to their product
The company is always at the forerunner of rumour and usually with Ripple (XRP) and this week is no different. Western Union has been forced to dispel hearsay that cryptocurrencies will form a part of their money transfer service. Allegedly due to “the request of their customers”. This is hard to believe as Ripple would mean their customers get their money instantly instead of up to a 10-day wait depending what currency they are using and that almost every one of their currency and fintech competitors are using or consider to use blockchain.
