BitMEX was the number one crypto derivatives exchange in the recent past. But now, it has lost first place in the space. Two significant events happened to the business, causing an exodus of traders from the platform. One of them was the massive sell-off in March due to the pandemic crisis.
Bulls and bears are still duking it out in the Bitcoin market, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency seems to be in a period of consolidation. However, Ethereum has been performing much better recently, outdoing Bitcoin on both the 7-day and 30-day time frames.
BTC/USD opened at 36,799, according to the exchange rate at CEX.IO, and was trading in a downward fashion from 02:00 to 06:00 UTC. The pair bounced to 37,280 between 06:00 and 08:00 UTC and was mainly trending sideways until 16:00 UTC. Between 16:00 and 17:00 UTC, BTC/USD attempted an upswing from 37,351 to 38,000 but was stopped midways and driven close to the open of the hourly candlestick at its close.
Judging by the first two weeks we cannot say that the cryptocurrency market has cooled off yet. Yes, Bitcoin does seem to have entered a period of mostly sideways trading with relatively high volatility, but other projects are pulling the space forward now. Just recently, Ethereum stepped into the limelight of the community’s attention by setting its new ATH price. But besides Ethereum, which is definitely worth keeping an eye on, there are many other cryptocurrency projects, that are looking to benefit from significant updates and the increased attention that comes with these upgrades. This week’s selection features three such projects.
It only seems like yesterday that casinos and also sports betting sites started accepting cryptocurrencies from their players. The new payment method is not offered by many casinos, but it would be a lie for us to see that new betting sites are not emerging daily. The good news is that we have seen ample new Bitcoin betting sites setting up shop online, and also offering a good vast selection of crypto currencies being offered. Apart from this,many online betting and sports sites also lure players and shower them with rewards and promotions if they deposit and use Bitcoins as their main payment method when playing at the said site.
COVID-19 shocked the world in 2020, and governments responded to the pandemic by printing more money. Governments around the world have already deployed stimulus packages, and additional measures are on the way. Now, many experts are worried about the consequences of the quantitative easing policy in the post-pandemic world.
ECB President Christine Lagarde recently said that she considers BTC as a speculative asset that needs to be regulated globally. In her opinion, a lot of »funny business« has been facilitated through Bitcoin, and the asset has also been used to launder money. Lagarde called for a global approach to regulating Bitcoin, something that would be very difficult to achieve.
As it makes new all-time highs, Bitcoin is now in the focus of the public’s attention once again. Astronomical price predictions are popping up left and right and even some celebrities are now publicly talking about cryptocurrency.
BTC/USD began the trading on 12th January at 35,468, according to the exchange rate at CEX.IO. In the first two hours, the pair edged down to 34,000. Then, starting from 03:00 UTC BTC/USD began an ascendency, which at 08:00 UTC took the pair to the 50-period simple moving average at around 35,600. The attainment of the moving average was a signal for a renewal of bearish price action, which was quickly confirmed: moving down consistently, the pair reached 32.501 in between 14:00 and 15:00 UTC.