The total cryptocurrency market capitalization had repeatedly taken support close to the $250 billion mark since mid-July of this year. However, the recent collapse in crypto markets led by Bitcoin (BTC) has broken the support and market capitalization has dipped to just under $220 billion. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason that started the fall. A few speculators might have built up positions expecting the prices to surge following the launch of Bakkt. However, when that did not play out, they started closing their trades in a hurry. As a result, important support levels cracked and the rest …

The long-awaited launch of Bakkt has seen a lukewarm response as only 63 Bitcoin (BTC) contracts have been traded as of press time. This is not unexpected because Bitcoin has been range-bound for the past few weeks, hence, institutional traders will not be in a hurry to initiate positions. They are likely to wait and watch for a few days and then jump in. Bakkt CEO Kelly Loeffler said that the launch of Bakkt will instill “trust through regulation and secure custody.” As the institutional players warm up to Bakkt, we anticipate volatility to pick up in the next few …

EOS, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, performed its first hard fork on Monday. The EOS update tracking tool maintained by the chain’s block producer, EOSNation, reports that EOS block producers (BP) signaled their intent to implement the update. According to the website, this is the largest upgrade that the network has seen so far, and the first one that required a hard fork. EOS Nation also claims that 29 of the 30 top BPs committed to upgrading at publishing time. Not the only major upcoming upgrade As Cointelegraph noted earlier this month, two more blockchains are awaiting notable upgrades. …

Though Bitcoin’s (BTC) price action has largely been lackluster in the past few days, it could change with the launch of Bakkt. Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee is positive on “Bakkt and its ability to improve trust with institutions to crypto.” The crypto markets have been waiting for institutional interest to fuel the next leg of the up-move and Bakkt is an important step in that direction. To maintain its advantage, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group plans to introduce options on Bitcoin futures in the first quarter of 2020, if it gets the necessary regulatory approvals. Tim McCourt …

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has withdrawn its application for the VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, VanEck’s director of digital asset strategies Gabor Gurbacs stated that they will continue to work with regulators to bring “a physical, liquid and insured ETF” to the market. Bitcoin had a muted reaction to this news, which is a positive sign. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman said that blockchain technology is good and will be adopted. However, he was not supportive of the idea of using blockchain technology for generating money. While crypto enthusiasts like the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, Schwarzman was against …

Many central banks across the world are racing against each other to devalue their currencies. Crypto fund executive Travis Kling believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is a great hedge against irresponsible monetary and fiscal policies of central banks and governments. Tim Draper has said that his target price of $250,000 for Bitcoin is conservative because at that price, the leading cryptocurrency will have only about 5% market share of the currency world, which may be understating the importance and power of Bitcoin. He said that, as the adoption of Bitcoin among the masses increases, the price will skyrocket higher. In the …

Facebook’s Libra continues to face opposition from lawmakers and central banks around the world. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that Europe should consider a European public digital currency to counter the Libra. German Christian Democratic Union parliamentarian Thomas Heilmann said that the grand coalition in Germany has agreed that it will not allow “market-relevant private stablecoins.” However, Bertrand Perez, the director general of the Libra Association, stated that the company will satisfy all regulatory requirements and that Libra might launch in the second half of 2020. He said that Libra does not aim to create new money supply, …

A hacker spent $1,000 in EOS to steal more than $110,000 in cryptocurrency through an exploit of EOS gambling game EOSPlay. Biggest DeFi service EOS REX used An alleged bug in EOSPlay allowed the attacker to steal 30,000 EOS via using EOS REX, a major decentralized financial (DeFi) service enabling EOS lending in exchange for extra CPU on the EOS blockchain, crypto-focused publication CryptoSlate reports Sept. 14. According to the report, the hacker used REX in order to ensure that blocks were filled with their transactions, allowing them to win continuously on EOSPlay. As previously reported, EOS REX is the …

The Cointelegraph Analytics team have released a summary of the most anticipated upcoming events for major coins including EOS, Tron (TRX) and Neo (NEO). EOS to have its first hard fork on Sept. 23 EOS, the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, is expected to have its first consensus upgrade on Sept. 23, as EOS block producers (BPs) have agreed to activate EOSIO v1.8 on the EOS mainnet on this date. According to EOS Nation, a major BP, the upcoming event is the largest upgrade to the EOS network since it was launched. It is also the first update to require …

The trade war between the United States and China has stoked fears of a recession. According to a survey by eToro, if a recession occurs, 40% of millennials would prefer to invest in crypto. However, Generation Z and Generation X investors are not convinced by crypto as they have chosen real estate and commodities as their preferred mode of investment. Gold Bullion International co-founder Dan Tapiero believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is “an invention.” He alluded to the decade-long record of the leading digital currency and said that if a company were to develop such a secure network framework, it would …

Preparations for the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) futures on Bakkt are on track. While market participants were excited before the launch of CME group’s futures trading at the end of 2017, the current launch is being approached with caution. Bitcoin’s volatility continues to drop, which shows that both bulls and bears are not taking large directional bets. Bitcoin’s dominance, that had risen above 71% in the past week is showing signs of cooling down. It has currently dropped below 70%. This implies that, for a few days, the action might shift to altcoins. However, this period of low volatility is …

Tim Draper, a famous investor with an estimated crypto net worth ranging between $350 million and $500 million, has joined the board of directors of EOS-based decentralized application (DApp) firm MakeSense Labs. In a news release on Sept. 9, Draper said: “I am excited to support this amazing application. Sense.Chat improves human connections by allowing private, seamless messaging and payments.” A notable investor Per the release, Draper was an early investor in parent company Sensay. Sense.Chat chief technology officer Ben Sigman said: “We are very excited to have Tim’s support and advice. He’s been a massively important and pivotal figure …