Stablecoins, Ceilings and Digital Currencies: Bad Crypto News of the Week

Published at: Aug. 2, 2020

Stability? What stability? Bitcoin has burst through its ceiling, leapt 15% and is now tickling a new ceiling of $11,000. The new move has put Bitcoin’s actual price at around double the realized price. On Black Thursday, the realized price was higher than the actual price.

So how much higher will Bitcoin go? Max Keiser expects the coin to reach $28,000… then push on up into six figures. As for who’s been creating the demand, a study from Cornerstone Advisors has found that 80 percent of this year’s crypto buyers are men with an average income of $130,000. And it’s not just Bitcoin they’re buying, of course. As Bitcoin climbed, Ethereum leaped too, flying past its previous 2020 peak of $309.

With cryptocurrencies on a roll, it’s no wonder that traditional traders are looking for a way in. Swiss SIX Exchange, a stock exchange, is listing a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded product. The “Bitcoin Capital Active ETP” is an actively managed crypto ETP that trades Bitcoin against a basket of top altcoins. Huawei has applied for a patent for blockchain-based storage, and in the UK, eToro is preparing to launch a debit card. The card will give the app’s crypto traders a way to extract their profits as cash.

Visa doesn’t want to be left behind. The payments company has announced support for the development of digital currencies. Mastercard might need to do better, though. Private investigators have accused one of its executives at Cyprus’s FBME bank of using “phantom transactions” to hide money laundering. FBME is said to have ties to Wirecard, a German payments processor which has issued crypto debit cards and is under investigation for fraud.

Wirecard isn’t the only entity under investigation, though. A New York State appeals court has affirmed that the state’s Attorney General can continue an investigation into iFinex, Bitfinex and Tether Holdings. The investigation could bring more regulation to stablecoins. And Steve Wozniak is using the power of the law too. The Apple co-founder is suing YouTube for letting scammers use his name and likeness to promote Bitcoin scams.

Stability? What stability?

Joel Comm is an internet pioneer, New York Times best-selling author, futurist speaker and co-host of The Bad Crypto Podcast. That’s a fancy way of saying he writes words, says things and loves to play with cryptos.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.