Coinbase receives e-money license in EU, will offer faster payments to UK customers
The cryptocurrency market is going through a tough period right now. The cap is down significantly from the record high reached in January, Google is following Facebook in banning crypto ads and regulators are investigating ICOs, just to name a few of the problems that it's facing. However, there is some good news to report as well.
Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, today announces that it's received an e-money license in the UK, which allows it to provide payment services to its local users and, by extension, other EU customers as well.
Bitcoin targeting $10,000 again, major cryptos post solid gains
The cryptocurrency market seems to have recovered after a massive correction took it below $280 billion earlier this month. That valuation brought the scene back to mid-November levels, with all the majors posting significant losses as a result. However, things have changed rather quickly, as, today, the market is getting closer to breaking $480 billion.
Bitcoin looks to be spearheading the push, as it's testing the $10,000 level, having the third-largest daily increase of the top 10 players at 8.9 percent. Litecoin is the best performer, by far, with gains of 19.5 percent, followed by IOTA with 9.1 percent. In the days following the crash, Litecoin consistently posted solid gains.
Crypto market rebounds after massive crash -- Bitcoin recovers above $8,000
If there's one thing that the cryptocurrency market is not lacking, excitement is definitely it. You can't get bored looking at the crazy swings in price. One day, you are looking at Bitcoin inching closer to $20,000 and, a few weeks later, you are wondering whether it will recover above $7,000. It's fun.
I am sure many investors would have a problem with my definition of fun in the crypto scene, but I can't help but feel amused. Prices fluctuate all the time, crashes happen frequently, rebounds are amazing, it's just how things are. Now, after a sudden move into sub-$300 billion territory, the market is getting close to stabilizing above the $400 billion mark.
Lloyd's Banking Group bans Bitcoin payments via credit card
It has been something of a rocky ride for cryptocurrencies recently, and none more so than Bitcoin. Now Lloyd's Banking Group has announced a ban on purchasing cryptocurrencies using credit cards in the UK.
The banking group controls Lloyd's Bank, Halifax, MBNA and Bank of Scotland, and the ban has been triggered by the deflation of Bitcoin. In recent months it has spiraled from a high of almost $20,000 to under $8,000.
Bitcoin falls under $8,000 -- crypto market down to $360bn
Towards the end of last year, it wasn't unusual for the major players in the cryptocurrency market to rise by double digits on a daily basis. They were reaching absurd levels, which were incredibly hard to justify even by crypto standards. Even though I like the market and understand the merits of some technologies, I dare anyone to explain with a straight face how Dogecoin -- which hasn't been updated in years -- and its ilk skyrocketed in valuation.
The market has seen some massive pullback in 2017, right after it peaked at over $830 billion. This should not surprise anyone who's keeping an eye on the crypto scene, but it does give the so-called "traditional media," which seems clueless when it comes to reporting about this industry, reason to talk about these things like it's the end of the world. Every. Single. Day.
Bitcoin dips below $10,000 -- it's a bloodbath
After peaking at just over $20,000, Bitcoin entered a massive correction last year which took it dangerously close to the $10,000 mark. The most-valuable cryptocurrency looked like it could recover for a while, but today it is still far, far away from the record price of last year.
The correction is moving Bitcoin back into sub-$10,000 territory today, and it is taking the market down along with it. Some of the majors are still holding well, but the top 100 is in the red almost in its entirety.
Crypto market enters deep correction -- over $200bn wiped out
A new correction is taking place in the crypto market, after South Korea and China indicated that they could introduce new regulations to crack down on investments and centralized trading, respectively.
South Korea is one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets, being responsible for a large part of the daily volume for the major coins and home to some of the most important exchanges, like Upbit and Bithumb.
Crypto market is crashing hard: over $230bn wiped off
The cryptocurrency market has been on a tear this year, shattering record after record. Fueled by majors like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash, it reached an incredible valuation on December 21: $654 billion. However, after the peak comes the fall, and here the crashes tend to be swift and massive.
Case in point: the cryptocurrency market is now down by more than $230 billion from yesterday's high. And, yes, you are reading that right. Its capitalization is currently hovering around the $422 billion mark. All the majors (top 10) are down by double digits in the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin suffering the smallest loss at 27.05 percent, as are nearly all the other coins in the top.
Coinbase looking into insider trading following Bitcoin Cash launch
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, so when it adds a new coin to its portfolio investors take notice. It is not uncommon for the price to see a big jump as a result: Litecoin, for instance, gained over 50 percent following the listing on Coinbase.
Something similar happened yesterday when Coinbase finally added Bitcoin Cash to the platform. At opening, the coin was trading for $2,200. The announcement saw the price rising to $2,805 at closing. However, on GDAX (Coinbase's trading platform), it simply exploded, which has lead Coinbase to consider the possibility of insider trading.
Litecoin founder Charlie Lee sells his LTC coins after monster rally
Litecoin is one of the strongest performers in the cryptocurrency market in 2017. In the past three months its price has increased from $51 to $361, gaining over 500 percent. However, the gains are even higher since January 1 -- 8,200 percent at peak value just a few days ago. Trading opened at $4.33 on the first day of the year.
The stellar performance has attracted an interesting response from Litecoin founder Charlie Lee, who, against the norm in the crypto scene, advised people to "invest responsibly" and warned of a consolidation. That has yet to happen, at least to the extent of a deep correction like we have seen this year, but it looks like Lee will not be financially involved in LTC then, as he's sold (and "donated") all of his LTC coins.
The average US home is worth less than 20 Bitcoin
It's fair to say that, in its current state, Bitcoin does not work as a means of payment for basic things. The average transaction fee is over $20, which makes common purchases, like a cup of coffee, virtually impossible to justify. However, as I noted in my What can you buy with Bitcoin? piece, things are different when we are looking at very expensive purchases.
One such scenario where using Bitcoin makes a whole lot of sense is buying a home. The transaction fee is negligible, as the cost is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if we are looking at the median price of a US home.
Crypto market now worth over $500 billion
The cryptocurrency market has come a long way this year. Fueled by the incredible growth of Bitcoin and altcoins like Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin, its valuation rose from 17.7 billion on January 1 to more than $0.5 trillion today.
More than $100 billion were added to the crypto market's capitalization in the past week. Bitcoin's rise has slowed down, but the other major players saw a massive boost that took them to new highs.
While you're watching streaming video, your browser is secretly mining cryptocurrency
There’s a cryptocurrency goldrush on at the moment. People are investing insane sums, and also making good money -- Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin are all doing phenomenally well.
However, some sites are turning to mining cryptocurrency as a way to supplement falling ad revenue, and a new report from security firm Adguard has found that almost a billion monthly visitors to four popular streaming sites have unknowingly been mining Monero currency while watching videos.
Litecoin breaks $300 as Bitcoin growth slows down
It's an interesting day in the cryptocurrency scene. All the coins in the top 10 are in the green, posting some serious gains over the last 24 hours. The most impressive showing comes from Litecoin, which is up over 80 percent, while the most modest increases come from Bitcoin and Bitcoin Gold.
Litecoin has been steadily growing over the past month, rising from just under $60 on November 12 to over $300 today -- at the time of writing this article, Litecoin is trading around the $325 mark. As a result, it has become the fourth most-valuable cryptocurrency, after Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash.
Steam drops Bitcoin payments, blaming high fees and volatility
While Bitcoin is growing in value and attracting more and more capital, it is hard to make a case for it as a payment method these days. Sure, you can buy things with Bitcoin, but fact of the matter is it lacks mainstream appeal among businesses -- at least right now.
It is easy to see why: it's incredibly volatile and the fees are high too. So, if you want to buy something with Bitcoin you will probably pay more than if you were to use dollars or euros, for instance. This is something that Valve has experienced as well and it is doing something rather interesting to make things better for Steam customers: it's dropped Bitcoin as a payment method altogether.
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