Crypto Recap March 5: Decision Time for Bitcoin, Incredibly Compressed Ranges

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Market Summary

We were left with a mixed picture on Monday, as the recurring pattern of decreasing volumes keeps playing out while Bitcoin continues to find buying interest, up by a paltry 1% for the day. Monday’s price action in top cryptos, with no exception, portrays quite accurately the current state of affairs in the crypto market, that is, volatility incredibly compressed amid an overall lack of interest as reflected by the volumes. The market value stands around $470b, barely changed in the last 24h.

All eyes remain on the performance of Bitcoin, as it gradually approaches an area of tremendous technical significance around $12k. Since the market is currently driven by a clear Bitcoin cycle, in other words, Bitcoin is setting the tone for the rest of the Alts complex to follow, watch the action around the aforementioned level. The overall market interest and volumes seen in the lead-up to $12k are telegraphing that an extension of the recent gains is an outcome that will be tough to come by.

The decrease in the total size of transactions off-chain (in exchanges) comes in line with a major decline in google searches for Bitcoin or related terms. Besides, the social media interest towards cryptocurrencies has also taken a hard hit as one can observe by analyzing stats via Reddit or Twitter. Large pools of retail investors were caught wrong-footed during the December’s irrational exuberance rally, so we imagine that the appetite for many to return is quite lame for now.

What can change the present circumstances? There are certainly a handful of factors one can consider: ICO funds from the Dec frenzy were tied up but will soon free up as the coins hit exchanges, so keep an eye on that wave of new capital coming in. Don’t forget that is also the season for Americans to get a tax refund, which may help to see further diversification into cryptos. Last but not least, institutional capital will gradually find its way through as more sound regulations are established, which will have, by far, the largest impact.

*Headlines below are listed in chronological order, as seen in CoinLive News Terminal

Top Headlines Industry / Regulations

• Cambodia Plans to Introduce a National Cryptocurrency — Cambodia plans to be the first South-east Asian Country to launch its national cryptocurrency.
• Cryptocurrencies Being used to Fund Political Campaigns — Recently, Austin Peterson from Missouri received 24 bitcoins — worth $240,000 USD — for his political campaign.
• Belgium: Authorities Cracking Down on Crypto Taxes — Belgian Tax Authorities have started monitoring citizens who are trading in cryptocurrencies in the foreign crypto exchanges.
• IBM: Blockchain Technology Will Change the Way the World Works — Martin J Schroeter, Senior Vice-President of IBM, Global Markets division, reiterated IBM’s complete support to the Blockchain technology.
• India: Two Exchanges to Shut Down Their Services as of Tomorrow — Two crypto exchanges, Btcxindia and Etherxindia have been ordered to shut down trading activities as of March 5th.
• Billion Dollars Raised by ICOs for Three Months in a Row — Despite being the shortest month of the year, it looks like February ICOs have raised over a billion dollars from 48 projects.
• Uber Chairman Creates New Crypto Called Eco — Uber co-founder and chairman, Garret Camp, has announced that he is creating a new crypto called “Eco.”
• PayPal to Enable Faster Crypto Payments? — Global payments platform, PayPal, has applied for a patent that will allow faster crypto payments.
• China to Launch National Cryptocurrency Exchange? — Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has recommended launching an exchange at the national level.
• British MP Thinks “Bitcoin Is Just a Gigantic Ponzi Scheme” — In an interview with Politics Home, Diane Abbot, a Member of Parliament (MP), has argued that Bitcoin was a “gigantic Ponzi scheme.”
• Kakao to Establish Blockchain Subsidiary — Kakao, the service provider for popular South Korean mobile messaging app KakaoTalk, will be launching a Blockchain subsidiary named “Kakao Blockchain.”
• Japan’s SBI Holdings Puchases 40% of Cold Wallet Manufacturer CoolBitX — Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has purchased 40% of Taiwanese cold wallet manufacturer CoolBitX.
• Daimler Introduces MobiCOIN, Blockchain-Powered Reward System for Eco-Drivers: At the Mobile World Congress 2018, German car manufacturer Daimler has presented a blockchain project.

Key Events on Top Cryptos for Mar 6 (Tue)

• Cryptocurrencies (CRYPTO) — Thailand Conference
• Lisk (LSK) — Meetup in Madison
• Qtum (QTUM) — DC Blockchain Summit 2018 in Washington
• Ripple (XRP) — “Fast Money” on CNBC
• Waves (WAVES) — Meetup in Amsterdam
  source: www.coinmarketcal.com

Main Gainers / Losers Top 100 Coins

source https://coinmarketcap.com

source https://coinmarketcap.com

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