Physical delivery of Bitcoin (BTC) for futures on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)’s Bakkt platform is going strong, despite a tumultuous month for the markets. Data from Arcane Research posted on March 26 reveals that, as of March 20, the number of traders opting to receive physical delivery of the cryptocurrency rose 44% on the month. Bakkt delivery of Bitcoin, Oct. 2019- March 2020. Source: @ArcaneResearch Physical vs. cash settlement Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures contracts — the first of their kind to be physically settled in Bitcoin — first went live in…
Month: March 2020
Bitcoin and Ether Market Update: March 26, 2020
Total crypto market cap added $17.6 billion to its value since Monday morning and now stands at $184.2 billion. Top ten coins are all in red for the last 24 hours with Litecoin (LTC) and Ethereum (ETH) being the worst performers with 2.8 and 2.7 percent of losses respectively. At the time of writing bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $6,620 on the Bitstamp daily chart, while ether (ETH) moved up to $135 and Ripple’s XRP is hovering around $0.161. BTC/USD Bitcoin suffered a drop to $5,812 on Sunday, March 22…
Bitcoin Hash Rate Drops Almost 45% Since 2020 Peak
The Bitcoin (BTC) network hash rate has just taken a steep plummet and is now down almost 45% from its 2020 peak. The network’s hash rate sank from 136.2 quintillion hashes per second (EH/s) on March 1 to 7.5.7 EH/s today, March 26, according to data from Blockchain.com. Coin.dance — another analytics site for the coin’s blockchain — reveals a similar pattern, if less stark. The site reported a 2020 peak of roughly 150 EH/s on March 5, today down to 105.6 EH/s — a 29% decrease. Bitcoin network hash…
Prosecutor Says Crypto Scammers Should Stay in Jail Despite COVID-19 Concerns
New Jersey federal prosecutor Craig Carpenito is fighting the request of two alleged crypto scammers to be released from a county jail amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to court documents filed with the United States Department of Justice on March 24, Carpenito asserted that the recently enacted Bail Reform only preferences pretrial release of a defendant when their appearance at trial could be reasonably assured. Carpenito noted that COVID-19 has sparked a “national conversation” regarding whether pretrial detainees accused of nonviolent crimes should be released, in order to reduce the…
Crypto Investment Wealth Is Highest in San Francisco Bay Area
Crypto taxation tool CoinTracker has released a report comparing the prevalence of cryptocurrency ownership across major cities in the United States. The report is based on user data that CoinTracker has been collecting since 2013. CoinTracker found that the top four ranked cities by average crypto portfolio size are all in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, with San Francisco proper at approximately $55,000 followed by Palo Alto with $39,000, Oakland with $35,000 and San Mateo with $30,600. Only four cities outside of California are home to investors whose average crypto…
Kraken Predicts Wealth Transfer will Cause BTC Rise to $350K by 2045
Millennials and Generation Xers in the United States currently practicing sheltering in place and social distancing may find some solace that — in addition to saving lives — they may stand to inherit almost $70 trillion from Baby Boomers in the years to come. Kraken Intelligence, the in-house research team at the crypto exchange of the same name, released a new report entitled “Inheriting USDs & Acquiring BTCs: How ‘The Great Wealth Transfer’ Will Fuel ‘The Great Bitcoin Adoption.’” According to the report, if American Millennials were to invest at…
Bitcoin Vulnerable To A Nasty Drop Unless It Claims $7K
Bitcoin is facing a strong resistance near the $7,000 level against the US Dollar. BTC price is likely forming a double top pattern near the $7,000 level and it could dive below $6,400. Bitcoin is forming a bearish breakdown structure below $7,000 against the US Dollar. A double top pattern is forming with resistance near $7,000 and support at $6,400. There is a crucial bullish trend line forming with support near $6,240 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair either rally significantly above…
Manitoba Regulator and Police Warn of Increase in Bitcoin Scams
The Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) has issued a public warning against cryptocurrency scams after reports of fraud involving two European firms. On March 20, the Manitoba securities watchdog published an investor alert regarding Jbcapitals and Halifax & Associated for defrauding a rural Manitoban of more than $5,500. The two firms are affiliated with each other and primarily operate in Switzerland and Denmark. Crypto scammers target victims on Facebook Senior MSC investigator Jason Roy stated that the victim was lured by a Facebook ad for Jbcapitals: “The company, Jbcapitals claimed to…
Ripple (XRP) is Primed For a Rally And Only 1 Thing is Holding it Back
Ripple is struggling to gain momentum above the $0.1640 and $0.1650 resistances against the US Dollar. XRP price must stay above the $0.1580 support to continue higher in the near term. Ripple price is facing a lot of hurdles near the $0.1640 and $0.1650 levels against the US dollar. The bulls could gain strong momentum if there is a clear break above $0.1650. There is a major bullish trend line forming with support near $0.1600 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The price could…
Japanese Investors Rushed To Buy The Dip After Bitcoin Bloodbath
The number of retail investors registering for an account with Japanese cryptocurrency exchange bitbank spiked by 40% in the week after the Bitcoin bloodbath. The March 12 meltdown saw the price of Bitcoin (BTC) drop to a new 2020 low at $3,775. An official blog post by bitbank market analyst Yuya Hasegawa reveals that Bitcoin trade volume and account registrations both saw a significant surge in the wake of the crash. Even the number of users going through KYC was above average on the day of the BTC downturn and…