Bitcoin struggled to regain its all-time high this week and is trading below the $50,000 level for the second consecutive week
Bitcoin price remains below $50k, and whales are buying
The leading cryptocurrency struggled last week, dropping from its all-time high price of $58,300 to trade below $44,000. However, it began this week excellently, surging to the $50,000 level by the middle of the week. It lost more than 4% of its value over the past 24 hours and is currently trading below the $50,000 mark. Hence, making this the second consecutive week that the leading cryptocurrency is trading below that threshold.
According to data obtained from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin whales are accumulating BTC around $48,000 as they believe the cryptocurrency’s price could continue to rally. The bet made by institutional traders on the futures market shows that they believe BTC price could reach between $75k and $100k by May. Hence, a trading price below $50k is a huge buy signal for institutional investors.
Ripple’s Chris Larsen wants to dismiss SEC case over XRP sales
One of the leading headlines in the crypto space in recent months was the Securities and Exchange (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple. SEC accused Ripple and some of its executives of selling XRP, a cryptocurrency it tags as unlicensed security. The case had brought negative news for XRP and Ripple from multiple angles.
This week, Ripple’s executive chairman Chris Larsen filed a motion with a United States court to dismiss the SEC case over XRP sales. According to a legal letter from Larsen, the amended complaint by SEC lawyers still fails to state a claim against him.
SEC sued Larsen and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse for selling $1.3 billion worth of Ripple to retail investors, claiming that XRP was an unregistered security. The sale of XRP, therefore, is a securities violation.
Larsen’s lawyers claimed that at the time he sold his XRP stash, he didn’t know that SEC had labelled XRP as a security. The lawyers added that the Justice Department and FinCEN considered and regulated XRP as a cryptocurrency and not a security.
Bitcoin has spurred new ideas: SEC chairman nominee
Gary Gensler, President Biden’s nominee for SEC chairman told the United States Senate Banking Committee that Bitcoin had spurred new ideas in the global financial markets. He believes that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have changed the financial sector to provide adequate financial inclusion. However, it has also raised new issues regarding investor protection that the SEC and other regulatory agencies need to take care of.
Gensler has been a cryptocurrency supporter since his days as the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. If he is appointed, cryptocurrency enthusiasts are confident that he will bring positive regulations to promote innovations in the crypto space.
Coinbase accounts for 10% of the total crypto market cap
Coinbase is a leading crypto exchange and is getting ready to go public over the next few months. Earlier this week, Messari published a report revealing that Coinbase custody accounts for over 10% of the total cryptocurrency market cap.
The cryptocurrency exchange provides its users with custodial services that cover over 90 different cryptocurrencies. The report revealed that Coinbase held roughly $90 billion for its users towards the end of last year, representing over 10% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. The general crypto market cap is now above $1.4 trillion, and it is unclear how much Coinbase holds at the moment. It is not surprising that BTC and ETH represented 83% of the volume held on Coinbase as they are the leading cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap.
A cryptocurrency tab is now available on Google Finance
This week, Google Finance launched a cryptocurrency tab on its website, allowing users to get more information on the crypto market instantly and with ease. Google Finance is the search engine’s dedicated website that features business news and other financial events.
The addition of a cryptocurrency tab means investors and entrepreneurs can obtain major news events from the crypto world on the website. Google Finance features several financial market components, but this is the first time cryptocurrencies are entering the fray. Cryptocurrency is listed as one of the five default markets. However, the site only covers Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) at the moment.
Ethereum’s success could result in its downfall: Changpeng Zhao
Ethereum is considered one of the most successful cryptocurrencies. Its blockchain is perhaps the most widely used in the crypto space. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes its success could also be the reason for its failure in the long run.
The Ethereum network continues to battle with scalability, making it challenging for decentralised apps featured on the platform to adequately provide services to a large number of clients. Zhao believes that unless Ethereum keeps up with the user/demand growth, several developers would have no choice but to leave the network. ETH 2.0 is the solution to the blockchain’s scalability problem, but it is still years away from launch.
Coinbase, FTX and Binance CEOs lead blockchain billionaires list
The cryptocurrency and blockchain space added 11 new billionaires in 2020, bringing the total number to 17. Blockchain billionaires are individuals who made their money from cryptocurrency exchanges, investing in cryptocurrencies or mining them.
According to the Hurun Report’s 2020 Global Rich List published earlier this week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is the richest man in the crypto space, with a net worth of over $11 billion. He is followed closely by the CEOs of FTX (Sam Bankman-Fried) and Binance (Changpeng Zhao), worth $10 billion and $8 billion, respectively.
The cryptocurrency market rallied in 2020, with BTC recording over 400% growth in price during the year. This enabled several investors to earn massive profits from their investments.