Bitcoin declined sharply over the weekend and hit a low for the year below $5,900. The top cryptocurrency rebounded later and was trading above the crucial mark of $6,000 Monday morning.
The weakness on Sunday emerged after Hyun Song Shin, economic adviser and Head of Research at the Bank of International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland said in a speech that some cryptocurrencies could be treated as securities.
Other factors that contributed to the slide was the increasing regulatory oversight of the cryptocurrency market in Japan and elsewhere in the world. In a smaller way, concerns that fiat withdrawals may become impossible from crypto exchanges in India after a central bank ban comes into force early July also added to the weakness.
Overall cryptocurrency market capitalization was $254.50 billion as of 10.22 am ET on Monday on CoinMarketCap.
Here is a wrap of the main news from the cryptocurrency and blockchain space over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin Dips To New 2018 Low; Rebounds
Bitcoin touched a new 2018 low on Sunday, at $5,787, around 70% lower than its peak in December 2017, but has regained since then. Tthe volatility of the largest cryptocurrency reflects increased scrutiny in the digital currency market by government regulators globally as well as central bankers’ questioning about its viability. Read more…
India’s Zebpay Crypto Exchange Warns Fiat Withdrawals Could Stop
Zebpay, one of India’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, warned its customers last week that withdrawals in the fiat money, the Indian rupee, could stop soon. The exchange issued the warning as the three-month time-frame given by the Reserve Bank of India for banks to end their existing services to cryptocurrency-related business, ends early July. Read more…
EOS Tops China’s New Cryptocurrency Rankings; Bitcoin Drops To 17th
Bitcoin has dropped to 17th place when the Chinese government revised its official cryptocurrency rankings. China’s Center for Information Industry Development (CCID), under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, has released the second edition of its state-endorsed cryptocurrency and Blockchain ratings. Read more…
South Korea To Invest Over $200 Mln For Blockchain Initiatives
South Korean government is planning a major blockchain technologydevelopment with investments of 230 billion won or around $207 million, which will be raised by 2022. The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea announced that the investment, as part of its blockchain development strategy, would be used to fund over 100 companies and 10,000 blockchain industry professionals. Read more…South Korea To Invest Over $200 Mln For Blockchain Initiatives
Bank Of England To Rebuild RTGS System To Interface With Blockchain Platforms
The Bank of England is in the process of rebuilding its Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system to enable new non-bank payment service provider (PSP) systems and others using blockchain’s distributed ledger technology(DLT), to easily plug into its system. This was revealed in a speech titled “New Economy, New Finance, New Bank” delivered by the Central Bank’s Governor Mark Carney at the annual Mansion House dinner. Read more…
Current Prices
Bitcoin was up 5.19 percent at $6,227.49 and Ethereum was higher by 6.11 percent at $465.51 on Coinbase.
Read more at: RTT News
