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, …

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 …

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 …

Bitcoin’s market dominance has been holding above 65% mark since late July of this year. This shows that Bitcoin continues to garner the maximum interest from the market participants. There were periods in the past few months when it looked like an “altseason” was around the corner but it never materialized. Most major cryptocurrencies — led by Bitcoin — topped out in June of this year and have been gradually moving lower since. At the end of the year, in the absence of any major trigger, fresh money is unlikely to enter the space. Most institutional players prefer to park …

Tom Jessop, the president of Fidelity Digital Assets, said that the absence of a long track record is one of the main reasons that is keeping the institutional investors at bay from investing in cryptocurrencies. As the asset class is only 10 years old, Jessop said that the institutions question the durability and longevity and are unsure whether it would be around tomorrow. However, he said that these concerns are likely to be resolved with time. Even among the investors, the perception has been that crypto investing is largely male-dominated. Nonetheless, a survey by Bitcoin (BTC) fund operator Grayscale has …

Data from CoinMetrics shows that crypto whales now hold 42.1% of Bitcoin’s current supply. This is a slight increase compared to 37.9% two years back and analysts have interpreted the increase as a positive sign, as it shows large investors have been accumulating Bitcoin during its bear phase. There is, however, no major change in the top 1,000 addresses, as their holdings only inched up from 34.4% at the end of 2017 to 34.8%, according to Flipside. While retail traders have been worried about picking a bottom, large investors are looking at the possible upside to be attained over the …

Paris-based asset management firm Napoleon AM has announced the launch of a specialized professional fund under French law, the Napoleon Bitcoin Fund. The fund would replicate the price of the cash-settled Bitcoin futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. According to the company, this is one of the first regulated products giving exposure to Bitcoin, with which institutional investors can diversify their portfolio. While the firms are launching crypto products for professional investors, not every investor is confident about the future of Bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban believes that BTC could never become a reliable currency because “it's too difficult …

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is launching support for Tezos (XTZ) staking, according to an announcement published on Dec. 11. Starting on Dec 13., Kraken will enable its users to trade with XTZ and obtain instant financial rewards. To begin staking XTZ, users have to put the cryptocurrency into their Kraken Staking Wallet, but already having XTZ in their Spot Wallet. Those users who stake XTZ will reportedly receive a 6% return annually, with rewards paid two times a week. Kraken further notes that staked tokens are inaccessible for trading or withdrawal. Kraken confirmed to Cointelegraph that the exchange is looking to …

Lately, Bitcoin (BTC) price has been trading in a range that favors bears and this has led traders to shift their focus to altcoins. Interestingly, there has also been some very volatile price action taking place over the past 24-hours, especially with Binance Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) like Matic Network (MATIC) which dropped 60% on Dec. 9. This drop led several other Binance IEO’s to dump and a handful of non-IEO altcoins also followed. However, one of the most active coins lately is Tezos (XTZ), and its recent 100% rally validates the need for a deeper analysis of the asset’s …