You Spin Me Right ‘Round Baby Right ‘Round
After some healthy, steady growth over the last two and half weeks, the cryptocurrency market threw us for a tizzy, dropping nearly 16 percent in one day at the end of this week. The overall market fell from ~$224.5B to ~$205B over the course of the week. Speculators claim that the drop was caused by news of Goldman Sacks scrapping plans for a dedicated cryptocurrency terminal (later proved false). However, no one knows for certain.
Let’s check in on the top coins:
Bitcoin was the top ‘performer’ only dropping 6.99% since last Friday.
Ethereum gets demolished once again, falling 20.67% to just over $222.
XRP also sees double-digit red in its 11.41% freefall.
Domestic News
Coinbase Tags in Blackrock to Help with ETF: Business Insider reported this week that Coinbase spoke with Blackrock to get some advice on their alleged crypto-ETF. If you’re hoping for a partnership announcement, you shouldn’t get too excited. The talks seem to just be the case of big brother Blackrock helping out little brother Coinbase navigate the complicated ETF process. With nine ETF pseudo-rejections so far, it’s evident Coinbase wants to do it right with their first swing at the plate.
Satis Group is Bullish on Bitcoin (not so much on XRP): Bloomberg Research recently published a report by Satis Group, and the findings should make you smile. Well, depending on which coins you support. The report lists positive forecasts for Bitcoin, Monero, and Decred which are expected to reach $96k, $18k, and $535, respectively, within five years. If you’re a Bitcoin Cash or XRP supporter, you may want to stop reading here. Satis Group predicts price points of $268 for BCH and just $0.01 for XRP over the same time period.
IBM Launches Cross-Border Payment System Using Stellar: IBM is continuing their plunge into blockchain. This time with a complete cross-border payment system, dubbed World-Wire. World Wire aims to reduce the settlement times of worldwide transfers from days to a matter of minutes. How? Hitching onto the back of the Stellar protocol (R’uh R’oh Ripple). World Wire now joins the long list of blockchain products that IBM offer or is planning on offering over the next couple of years.
