Bitcoin started the new year on a weak note and looked to be losing ground. However, the news of the killing of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani, in an airstrike ordered by the US President Donald Trump, caused a reversal in Bitcoin’s price. This shows that the market participants have again turned to cryptocurrencies in times of uncertainty and escalating geopolitical tensions. In other news, Antoni Trenchev, the head of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Nexo.io, said that Bitcoin is a unique asset which is uncorrelated to the overall market. Trenchev said it is entirely possible that Bitcoin price reaches $50,000 in …

2019 was an eventful year for Bitcoin. In the first six months, it rallied about 310%, from a low of $3,355 on Jan. 29 to a high of $13,973.50 on Jun. 26. That stoked expectations that the leading digital currency might retest its lifetime highs at $19,531.90. However, the second half of the year was a disappointment as the price continued to decline and lost over 50% from its top at $13,973.50. As cryptocurrencies are a new asset class, they are difficult to analyze using traditional tools. Therefore, analysts have been issuing wide-ranging predictions on it. While Bitcoin enthusiasts expect …

As 2019 comes to an end, traders will closely analyze the events scheduled for 2020 that might boost cryptocurrency prices. One of the most talked-about and watched events would be the halving of Bitcoin miner rewards in May 2020. While Bitcoin’s price had surged following the previous two halving events in 2012 and 2016, it is difficult to say with certainty how the crypto markets will react this time. Many analysts are also divided on their expectations about the event. However, as halving nears, we anticipate the chart patterns will provide an insight into the likely reaction to the event. …

Swiss finance minister and outgoing president Ueli Maurer believes that one of the most ambitious crypto projects of 2019, Facebook’s Libra stablecoin, will not be accepted by regulators in its current form. Though Libra has not seen the light of the day, it has forced a number of central banks to take cryptocurrencies seriously. China could be one of the first developed nations to launch a central bank digital currency. Though cryptocurrency trading is banned in China, the regulators are worried about its comeback. The Chinese government wants to ensure that the digital form of yuan, when launched, does not …

South Korea’s central bank plans to recruit additional digital currency experts to build on its existing research into central bank digital currency (CBDC). Along with its own research, the bank also plans to discuss the developments of CBDCs with the Bank of International Settlements and other international organizations. While the larger economies are mulling launching or researching about CBDCs, the Central Bank of the Bahamas is expected to launch its digital currency pilot in one of the districts on Dec. 27. It plans to expand the project to another district in the first-half of 2020. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: …

As the year comes to an end, the focus will shift to the major events that are expected to influence crypto prices next year. China’s launch of a digital yuan is one such event that can influence crypto prices. The People’s Bank of China’s deputy director Mu Changchun said that the digital form of yuan would not have any room to speculate on its value as it would be different from Bitcoin and stablecoins. Though China has been against cryptocurrencies, it has been making major strides in supporting blockchain technology. The Central Bank of China has used blockchain technology to …

Since the start of 2019, the crypto market has been on the receiving end of an insane amount of financial volatility. For example, in January, the total market capitalization of this burgeoning sector was around $130 billion. However, by July, the market at large had witnessed an influx of bullish momentum that pushed the total capitalization value of this space to a whopping $373 billion. Following this period, the aforementioned bull run proceeded to subside quite a bit, with the market now hovering a tad under the $200 billion threshold. A few cryptocurrencies maintained a strong financial standing all year …

Bitcoin is leading the recovery from the front, which is a positive sign. This shows that bulls have used the recent dip to buy. As a result, Bitcoin’s dominance has increased to 68.9%. Former Wall Street trader Tone Vays believes that Bitcoin will increase its dominance further in 2020, perhaps as high as 85%. Although institutional money will enter Bitcoin first, it is unlikely that other altcoins will wither away. After investing in Bitcoin, large investors are likely to diversify into select altcoins. The next bull run is likely to be led by Bitcoin and a handful of altcoins. Hence, …

Block.One, the firm behind the EOS blockchain and token, proposed a major change to the network’s resource allocation system that would require users to rent network resources. According to a blog post published by Block.One on Dec. 21, the proposed changes aim to avoid network congestion caused by the inability to employ unused Central Processing Unit (CPU) time and bandwidth (NET) resources because users own them. According to Block.One, the network suffers from a poorly designed resource allocation system that allows most of the network’s resources to go unused despite significant demand, precluding the network from operating at full. During …

Though most major cryptocurrencies have broken below their support levels during the most recent fall, Bitcoin, which is inarguably the leader, has held its ground. This is a positive sign as it shows that the stronger hands are not panicking. This week top venture capitalist Tim Draper also reiterated his bullish view on Bitcoin. Draper is confident that the leading currency will hit $250,000 by 2022. Additionally, he believes that if Bitcoin’s price action prior to and after the May 2020 halving resembles the trajectory followed during previous halvings, his target might be achieved by the end of the next …

Block.One, the firm behind EOS, the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, has launched a new $1.5 million grant program to support the EOSIO development. EOS VC, the Block.One’s venture capital arm, plans to award grants worth $50,000 to each qualified project within its new funding initiative, the EOS VC Grants Program. According to an official announcement on Dec. 17, EOS VC will provide more than $1.5 million in grants to developers and supporters of the EOSIO platform. By launching the EOS VC Grants Program, Block.One apparently intends to attract more developers to its community and boost the adoption as the …

The crypto markets are currently held tight in the grasp of the bears. At the moment, there does not seem to be any specific news or event that has triggered the strong decline but one possibility is that some short-term investors who had been holding on to their positions in hopes of a rally are dumping at the current prices. The announcement of the first phase of a trade deal between China and the United States and the likelihood of the US Fed will not raise rates in 2020 appears to have boosted sentiment in the US stock market which …