Crypto on a Charge

GB Market Commentary 10/08/2021

by William Morris

Overnight Bitcoin came close to pushing over $47,000, a key resistance level. Bitcoin fell to this price a few weeks after reaching an all-time high in April this year, if this level is broken this could be a sign for a significant price pump. Bitcoin is now trading at around $45,500. Some are predicting Bitcoin’s 50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day moving average in the next 3 days, which would be a very Bullish sign for Bitcoin. While the crypto market is showing strength, gold and silver have seen continued depression in price, entering 4- and 8-month lows respectively.

Following recent market momentum, assets under management of all institutional crypto products have surpassed $50bn, the highest level since May this year. Despite there being net outflows for five consecutive weeks. Ethereum has been on a charge since July 20th, this has been accelerated by the London hard fork implementation earlier this week. 21,000 ETH have been burnt so far, according to Ultrasound.money. Kevin O’Leary said “If Bitcoin is sound money because of the 21 million supply ceiling, Ethereum is ultrasound money.” Ethereum now represents 26% of all digital investment products compared with just 11% at the beginning of the year, a huge move in a market nearing $2trn.

Ripple is looking to bring NFTs to the XRP ledger as it seeks to gain market share in the rapidly expanding sector. David Schwartz noted XRP’s low cost and high speed make it very desirable for NFT application. Ripple are also forging ahead with On-Demand Liquidity, customers such as Azimo are using the XRP ledger to bridge two currencies in as little as three seconds, 24/7.

The US senate reached a last-minute agreement to amend the definition of who counts as a digital asset ‘broker’, a change that makes sure cryptocurrency miners / stakers and engineers are exempt from the proposed regulations. Brokers will have to collect personal information of the payers and payees involved in the financial settlement. The final vote on the rest of the bill is scheduled to happen today, there will be opportunities to further amend these provisions before it is written into law.

Circle, the payment company which issues USDC has announced plans to become a full-reserve national digital bank currency in the US. CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company was prepared to operate under the supervision and requirements of the US Federal Reserve, the US Treasury and other government agencies, stating: “Establishing national regulatory standards for dollar digital currencies is crucial to enabling the potential of digital currencies in the real economy”.

Unocoin, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange is set to allow users to purchase gift vouchers from major brands using Bitcoin. Vouchers can be purchased from between £1 - £50. Demand for cryptocurrencies and digital assets in India has surged in recent months, with nearly $6.6bn market cap, up until May this year compared to $923m until April 2020. AMC has also announced plans to start taking bitcoin, Adam Aron CEO, citing investor community enthusiasm for cryptocurrency payment option.

VeChain has entered the Chinese pet food market utilising its industry leading blockchain technology to record the entire product lifecycle. Assuring consumers that they know precisely what they are buying in a market which is said to be littered with counterfeits and low-quality products. This process will involve proof of origin, proof of ingredients and traceability throughout the whole supply chain. The pet market in China has boomed in recent years, with pet food alone being valued at over $1bn in 2020. VeChain is up 6% in the past 24 hours.