Though fundamentals play a large part in determining the price of an asset, short-term movements of the markets are driven by sentiment. This was clearly visible during the week. A few events soured sentiment early in the week, which dragged the total market capitalization of the crypto space down to $202 billion. When the markets are in a corrective phase, traders can become bearish even on events that do not have a material impact on the short-term. After the initial knee-jerk reaction, the markets digested the news and realized that it was not materially negative. This resulted in a pullback, …

The total market capitalization has bounced from very close to the $200 billion support, which is a positive sign. The pullback from the dip on Oct. 23 has been broad-based with Bitcoin (BTC) and several altcoins doing well. This shows that the crypto space is generating interest among buyers. Cryptocurrency market daily performance. Source: Coin360 Many major cryptocurrencies are showing signs of selling exhaustion. When the bulls buy breakdowns from critical support levels, instead of panicking, it shows that the sentiment is changing. As the recovery is across the board, it increases the sustainability of the move. Recently, Joel Birch, …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) plunged today, dragging the whole crypto space along with it. The total crypto market capitalization has broken below the $209 billion mark from where it had bounced on two previous occasions in late September. It has psychological support at $200 billion and below this point the total market capitalization could drop to $170 billion. Cryptocurrency daily performance. Source: Coin360 At the moment, there is not a direct reason that explains today’s strong correction. Some analysts believe that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before the United States Congress on Libra might have triggered the fall. They believe that the …

The global economy is on weak footing. This has led to rate cuts by several central banks across the world and many are planning to implement additional measures to support their respective economies. This has ballooned the balance sheets of the central banks and there appears to be no end in sight. Since mid-September, the Federal Reserve has resumed its bond buying initiative, leading its balance sheet to expand by $210 billion. The Fed’s balance sheet is now about $3.97 trillion. While the supply of fiat currencies has been steadily increasing for the past few years, Bitcoin’s (BTC) block rewards …

While the fundamentals in the crypto space have been improving over the past few months, repeated opposition to popular projects like Libra has kept the sentiment subdued. Speaking at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank fall meeting, German Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz vehemently opposed the idea of allowing Facebook to create Libra because, according to him, it is the “responsibility of democratic states.” Similarly, the Financial Action Task Force also voiced its concern on Libra and other stablecoins when its president Xiangmin Liu said that successful creation of these stablecoins can lead to “new risks regarding money …

The traditional financial system is heading to a disaster with about $17 trillion in global bonds returning negative-yields. “The whole concept of negative yields, of people paying for the privilege of lending money, is insane behavior to me,” said William Eigen, a veteran fund manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, in an interview with Bloomberg. Gemini crypto exchange co-founder Cameron Winklevoss believes that the staggering amount of negative-yield bonds is a compelling reason why investors should gravitate towards Bitcoin (BTC). Stafford Masie, the general manager of WeWork South Africa, also believes that Bitcoin is the best technological gift to mankind and …

The crypto market has been struggling since topping out in June but this does not mean institutional interest in crypto has diminished. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group tweeted that customer interest in CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures remained strong in Q3 2019 compared to Q3 2018. The total increase in open interest during this period was about 61%, which shows that the involvement of institutional traders is on the rise. Similarly, digital asset manager Grayscale Investments reported that its products received a total investment of $254 million in Q3 2019. That was a sharp increase over Q2 2019 when the …

A draft report by the G7 group of nations outlined the risks associated with “global stablecoins.” The report said: “No stablecoin project should begin operation until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks are adequately addressed.” This report is likely to increase the troubles for Facebook’s Libra project. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Christopher Giancarlo believes that Libra and the prospects of central bank digital currencies will increase regulator's intrusions into the crypto space. This can work as a double-edged sword. If regulators provide clarity, it is likely to attract large institutional players into the game, but if …

The wait for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund got a bit longer as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shot down the proposal by Bitwise Asset Management and NYSE Arca. The regulators felt that the application did not satisfy the requirement that it will “prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.” However, there was no noticeable reaction to this news, which shows that the market participants did not have high expectations of an approval. Meanwhile, as Bakkt’s volumes continue to unimpress, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is upbeat on its forthcoming Bitcoin options product. Tim McCourt, CME …

Grayscale director of sales and business development Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary said that institutional interest in the crypto space has been strong throughout this year. The second quarter inflow was $85 million with 80% coming from institutions. Though this is positive, it shows that the inflow is only a trickle and a fraction of the firepower the institutions hold. A Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) can also boost interest in the asset class. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will announce their decision on Bitwise Asset Management’s ETF proposal before the Oct. 13 deadline. Bitwise managing director and global head …

Total crypto market capitalization has held the $200 billion mark for the past few days. This is a positive sign, as it shows that market participants are not panicking at lower levels but are using dips to buy. The first leg of the bull phase was led by Bitcoin, which saw its dominance rise from just above 50% at the start of the year to about 71% in early-September. In the last few days, the action has been gradually shifting to altcoins, which can be seen from the gradual decrease in Bitcoin’s dominance, which is down to 66.7%. This increases …

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he is not comfortable with private companies creating their own cryptocurrencies. Therefore, he ruled out plans of Apple releasing its own currency token. Though Facebook has announced plans to launch the Libra stablecoin, it is facing a lot of regulatory hurdles. Due to this, a few early backers of the project are reportedly planning to drop out, prominent among them being PayPal. The United States House Financial Services Committee has announced plans to question Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about Libra and the company’s advertising policies. After this, the committee wants Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg …