Cryptocurrencies Market Overview - February 20, 2018

Welcome to my Cryptocurrencies Market Overview for Tuesday, February 20, 2018.

Today in the news:

• Bitcoin Core 0.16.0 set to launch in coming days.
• The Bitcoin mempool has now been empty for about three weeks. 1-5 satoshi/byte transactions are being cleared on the next block.
• The South Korean government will "encourage" banks to work with cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a new report.
• The Venezuelan government has officially launched the pre-sale of its controversial "petro" token.
• Bank of England governor Mark Carney is trying to spread FUD by claiming Bitcoin has failed as a currency.
• And more crypto news below...

24 Hour Change

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7 Day Change

Month-to-Date Change

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Latest Crypto News - February 20, 2018

Bitcoin Price Soars Above $11,600 as Bulls Strengthen Positions

The cryptocurrency market cap briefly rose as high as $516.8 billion but has since receded to $507.9 billion. This represents a single-day increase of $7.2 billion and equates to an approximate advance of 1.4 percent.
_{Read more: www.ccn.com}

Bitcoin’s transaction fee crisis is over—for now

The median daily transaction fee on the bitcoin network fell to $0.79 on Sunday, a six-month low. That represents a dramatic 97-percent decline from the peak of $34 reached on December 23. The median daily bitcoin transaction fee was more than $10 from mid-December until mid-January but has been declining steadily since then.
_{Read more: arstechnica.com}

South Korea Govt Will Support Cryptocurrency Transactions: Financial Regulator

The head of South Korea’s financial regulator and watchdog has now confirmed the government will support cryptocurrency trading while encouraging banks to facilitate transactions with exchanges, effectively killing any fears of a rumored ban.
_{Read more: www.ccn.com}

Other sources:

• South Korea to Support 'Normal' Crypto Trading, Says Finance Watchdog

Wyoming Introduces New Bill To Exempt Crypto From Property Taxation

A new tax bill has been introduced in the Wyoming state senate on Feb. 16 that would exempt virtual currencies from state property taxation, and suggests an effective date be provided for the tax exemption implementation.
_{Read more: cointelegraph.com}

Venezuela's 'Petro' Token Launches in Pre-Sale

The Venezuelan government has officially launched the pre-sale of its controversial "petro" token, according to a report.
_{Read more: www.coindesk.com}

Cryptocurrency Regulator Found Dead at His Home in South Korea

South Korea has been a leading market for bitcoin over the last year or so in terms of adoption, trading volumes, and regulatory response. Now one of the top figures in the government associated with regulating cryptocurrency has passed away, with stress suspected to be a contributing cause.
_{Read more: news.bitcoin.com}

Other sources:

• South Korean Cryptocurrency Regulator Found Dead at Home (WSJ)
• S. Korean Gov’t Official In Charge Of Crypto Regulations Found Dead Of Heart Attack

New Bitcoin Code Will Finally Boast Full SegWit Support

Segregated Witness (SegWit) is special. And it's not just because the bitcoin code change is focused on scaling the network (it is), or that it paves the way for a new layer for the tech that's potentially faster and cheaper (it does).
_{Read more: www.coindesk.com}

Other sources:

• Bitcoin 0.16.0 Update Introduces SegWit Wallet Support
• Bitcoin Core New Version: Soon to Include SegWit

Vitalik Has a New Idea for ICOs – And It's Being Tested

Investors need more control over ICOs. At least, that's according to ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin. One of the early thinkers to shape the crypto funding mechanism concept, he hasn't quite put the idea aside, last month proposing it could be combined with a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to best allow investors to have a say in how money raised gets handled.
_{Read more: www.coindesk.com}

Bank of England Governor Claims Bitcoin Has ‘Failed’ As A Currency

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney declared that Bitcoin cannot be considered a legitimate currency by “traditional” definitions, The Telegraph reported Monday, Feb. 19. At an event at London’s Regent's University, Carney claimed that Bitcoin failed to meet two major requirements of a traditional currency, claiming that Bitcoin is neither a means of exchange, nor a store of value.
_{Read more: cointelegraph.com}

Other sources:

• Bitcoin “Failed” as a Currency So Far, Says Bank of England Governor (CCN)
• Bitcoin has ‘pretty much failed’ as a currency, Bank of England Governor Carney says (CNBC)

Litecoin Heads Again for $250, Price Holds Even After the Fork

The price of Litecoin (LTC) held fast even after the hard fork was completed this weekend, making another shot for $250. Previously, investors believed the price would rise before Sunday, and drop after the fork, or just before it.
_{Read more: cryptovest.com}

Other sources:

• Litecoin Price Locks on to the $250 Target

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