The total crypto market cap gained $3.8 billion of its value for the past seven-day period and rose to $134.1. By the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $3,965, while ether (ETH) stands at $141. XRP’s Ripple is at $0.322.
BTC/USD
Bitcoin closed February 28 at $3,893 on the Bitfinex daily chart after trading in the wide range between $3,876 and $3,989 during the day session. The BTC/USD pair closed the second month of the year with a 12 percent increase and the first green candle on the monthly chart since July 2018.
On March 1, it moved North to $3,913, still well below the psychological level of $4,000. The weekend of February 2 to 3 started with range trading as the coin was hovering around $3,913. It was more than clear that BTC is stuck in between the $3,892 to $3,923 range since February 26 and needed a breakthrough.
The most popular cryptocurrency ended the trading session on March 3 at $3,884, but somehow managed to gain 1.4 percent in value for the seven-day period even with decreasing trading volumes.
Facebook is expected to launch its own cryptocurrency in 2019 as per The New York Times (NYT). According to five people close to the matter, who preferred to stay anonymous, the social media giant will be looking to integrate the digital coin with its messaging services WhatsApp and Messenger and also make it available on Instagram.
This will allow more than 2.7 billion users to send funds to friends and family instantly. As per the NYT sources, the new cryptocurrency will be pegged to a basket of fiat currencies and Facebook has already reached out to some of the major cryptocurrency exchanges to discuss token listings.
In December 2018, the San Francisco-based company was rumoured to be developing a stablecoin for WhatsApp that would serve India’s remittance market. A few months later, in February 2019, it acquired the blockchain startup Chainspace.
The U.S. Federal Reserve System may include a Bitcoin market collapse to its stress test scenarios for financial institutions.
n the Amendments to Policy Statement on the Scenario Design Framework for Stress Testing document, issued on February 28, the collapse of the Bitcoin market is described as a salient market risk that should be taken into consideration alongside a war with North Korea and major losses caused by trader misconduct.
The amendments will come into effect on April 1, 2019, but the Federal Board of Governors reserves its right to “continue augmenting the scenarios with risks it considers to be salient.”
Bitcoin formed its third consecutive red candle on March 4 and lost 2.1 percent before bottoming at $3,800. On March 5, it registered solid gains and added $150 to its value before closing the at $3,950, its best day since February 23.
The highly volatile trading session on March 6 brought no significant price changes as the Bitcoin/Dollar pair remained at $3,950.
ETH/USD
The Ethereum token closed February 28 at $138 after a highly volatile session during which it was trading between $136 and $143. One of the most popular altcoins closed the 30-day period with a stunning 30 percent price increase. It stayed flat on March 1 and remained close to $138.5.
During the weekend of March 2 to 3, ETH/USD formed a red candle to $135 on Saturday followed by another one on Sunday, this time to $133. The move led ether to a 1.5 percent loss for the week.
The new week started with a drop to $128 on March 4 even though trading volumes remained relatively stable around $3.5 billion during the weekend and on Monday.
On March 5, ETH followed the general trend and jumped to $140, which resulted in a nine percent price increase. It extended gains to $140.7 on March 6 after trading in the $136 to $143 range.
XRP/USD
The Ripple company token XRP closed February 28 with a green candle to $0.3208, right above the important price level at $0.32. One of the most popular altcoins ended the 30-day period one percent higher. It was the first green candle on the monthly chart since September 2018.
On March 1, the XRP/USD pair was trading mainly in the $0.318 to $0.33 range and was able to close at $0.323. Bulls were hoping to hold their ground and keep the price above $0.32 as long as possible to consolidate and initiate a new run towards the February high of $0.34. Trading volumes started to decrease after February 27, but still remained stable above $800 million.
On March 2, commentators saw a slight correction to $0.321 as neither bulls or bears were able to take over control. The Ripple token lost 1.2 percent of its value on March 3 and finished the week trading at $0.317 with a 4.6 percent of price increase for the seven-day period.
In BTCManager’s Monday XRP report, the author gave an update in regards to the securities lawsuit against the company and the drama around Coinbase’s XRP listing.
In his March 5 Ask Me Anything session, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao joined the discussion by commenting that Binance has always been very supportive of XRP and they definitely don’t see it as a security.
In the meantime, Ripple has been ranked the 17th best place to work in the IT Industry in San Francisco Bay Area as per a new survey conducted by Good Place to Work (GPTW). The crypto startup is included in the “Small and Medium Companies” list thanks to 91 percent of its employees claim it “is a great place to work.”
The XRP/USD pair started the new week with a 2.7 percent drop to $0.309 on March 4. This was the coin’s third straight day in the red as it was already eyeing the lower levels around $0.30.
On March 5, however, it managed to rebound by progressing to $0.342 in an extremely bullish session. Trading day on March 6 was also highly volatile as the coin peaked at $0.33 before closing the day at $0.323.
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