Ethereum Classic’s Comeback, Bitmain’s $18 Billion IPO, and Goldman’s Bear Tear: This Week in Crypto

Make sure you check out our previous edition here, now let’s go over what happened in crypto this week. Also, make sure you subscribe for this week’s edition of The CCN Podcast on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Price Watch:

The bitcoin price is down 12% this week following a loss of 15% last week. Bitcoin had been hovering around $8,000 for several weeks leading up to last weeks price drop. The price drop has again been blamed on the SEC’s rejection of the Winklevoss’ second ETF. The price hung around the $7,500 mark bere oscillating downward to below $7,000. Analysts continued to wait for a breakout as the price continued to slump to mid-$6,000. The next day, the price fell further to $6,180. As one of our contributors put it, the price was “pushed off the cliff”. The price rose slightly but failed to maintain momentum.
Ethereum is down 24% this week at the $308 level greatly exaggerating Bitcoins movements. The move comes as bitcoin dominance has hit 50% sending alt coins spiraling down.
The entire coin market cap is down 19% to $206 billion. The massive drop comes as the market experienced a substantial decline in volume.

Exchanges:

Robinhood, Coinbase Pro to List Ethererum Classic – This week, Ethereum Classic became the sixth cryptocurrency listed on stock trading app Robinhood, whose crypto trading service is now available in 19 U.S. states. Later in the week, Coinbase began accepting ETC deposits on Coinbase Pro (formerly GDAX), its order-book cryptocurrency exchange, with trading against both USD and other crypto assets slated to commence later in the year.
Coinbase Returns to Wyoming after Three-Year Hiatus – The San Francisco-based Coinbase announced in a blog post that it has renewed its state-level money transmitter license, enabling it to resume services in Wyoming after locking investors out of their accounts more than three years ago.
Barclays May Be Opening Crypto Trading – Business Insider reports that a Barclays employee’s LinkedIn profile stated that he’s been “hired to produce a business plan for integrating a digital assets trading desk into Barclays’ marketing business.”. The profile has since been changed to remove digital currency references.
Ripple Coming to Coinbase Custody – In a statement, which appears on the official Coinbase blog specifies that the assets listed including Ripple (XRP), Monero (XMR) and EOS, are being considered for listing only, and have no bearing whatsoever on trading-related products and services.

Startups:

Enterprise:

Overstock Raises $270 million for Subsidiary tZero – A new investment by GSR Capital will see it acquire about 3.1 million shares of US-based Overstock, amounting to about 10% in overall shares of the company. In a letter of intent as confirmed by Forbes, GSR Capital will invest as much as $270 million to acquire 18% of tZero platform in the initial stage of the investment. Afterward, the company shall pay another $104.55 million for a 10% stake in OVerstock.
Accenture Files Blockchain Security and Scalability Patent – Professional services firm Accenture has filed a patent which seeks to enhance the speed and security of transactions on blockchains using patented hardware.
No, Starbucks isn’t Accepting Bitcoin – Contrary to reports in mainstream media, Starbucks has clarified that it will not be accepting direct bitcoin payments at coffee retail outlets. Rather they will help customers convert digital assets like Bitcoin into US dollars, which can be used at Starbucks.
Upwork: Blockchain the Fastest Growing Skill in US Freelance Job Market – According to the Q2 2018 Upwork Skills Index, blockchain was the fastest growing skill and beat out over 5,000 other skills listed on one of the largest freelancing platforms in the world.
Goldman Sachs is Bearish – Writing in the firm’s midyear economic outlook report, a team of Goldman investment strategists predicted that, despite having already shed more than $12,000 since its mid-December peak, the bitcoin price will likely continue on a downward trajectory.