Top Crypto Headlines

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Indian Blockchain Committee Head Clarifies Cryptocurrency Isn’t Illegal

AMD Increases GPU Production Following Increase in Demand

Regulators Raid Hacked Tokyo Exchange

Stellar Releases Desktop Client V 3.4

Three Reasons Why OMG Hodlers Are Excited

Tether Printed One-Third of All USDT Post-Subpoena

ECB’s Nowotny Says Legal Provision on Bitcoin Investment Is Needed

Cardano to Increase Security by Integrating Ledger Hardware Wallet

Illinois Government Planning to Implement Blockchain Technology

Ethos Joins Forces with Tax Prep App Taxfyle

Austrian Startup Completes First Lightning Transaction on Bitcoin ATM

FedEx Joins BiTA to Utilize Blockchain in Logistics

Estonian Startup Puts Car History Registry on the Blockchain

Santander to Roll out Ripple-Powered Mobile App in Q1

Russia’s Medvedev Proposes Multi-National Regulation on Cryptocurrencies

US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to Seek Talks on Crypto Regulation at G20

National Bank of Abu Dhabi to Use Ripple for Cross-Border Payments

UNICEF Launches Blockchain-Powered Fundraiser

Market Summary

It was, yet again, another bloodbath day in the crypto space. Much to the demise of crypto traders, and to a certain extent frustration, there wasn’t one single catalyst to justify such a brutal carnage across the board. It’s back-to-back double-digit losses for the crypto market, with Bitcoin at one point near $8,000 in GDAX before bouncing back towards $9,000, Ethereum waving ‘bye’ to the $1,000 mark and the rest of the Alts complex really struggling as the capitulation extended. The exeption was DigixDAO, Nano (former Raiblocks), Cindicator and a few others, holding up surprisnly well the avalanche of selling orders.

It’s human nature having an urgency to dig for answers amid the collapse in market valuations. Sometimes you get them, others you don’t. The complexity to understand Friday’s sell-off has probably more to do with market psychology, amid an environment that still lacks the transparency needed, and an excessive number of intricacies, to venture into clear answers. Trading, especially in cryptos, is not an exact science. Friday left people scratching their heads in exasperation, and media outlets looking for excuses.

In the context of a market, until recent times, emboldened by irrational exuberance, with valuations overstretched in a non-congruent line vs advancement of the technology, catalysts won’t always be clear. It’d be a good exercise to instead take a step back, be reminded of the ‘big picture’ — where and how fast the market had traveled to by end of 2017 but also where these technological advances are headed to make this world a better place — , and it will then become, potentially, more apparent that the answers of the sell-off on Friday don’t lie on wild guesses but rather on a complex list of risks having built up along the way. Below is a list of risk candidacies:

Media over-playing the headlines of India not considering cryptos legal tender.

The anticipation of tougher regulations when the heads of the SEC and CFTC testify on cryptos during a U.S. Senate hearing on Feb 6.

Coordinated efforts by G10 countries to set directives by which to abide as part of a comprehensive plan to semi-regulate crypto markets.

The constant scams, last episodes in BeeToken/Experty ICOs, will only strengthen the conviction by regulators to flex their muscle.

Facebook banning adverts related to ICOs, Bitcoin, and other cryptos.

The Bitfinex / Tether drama: Market nervous on the risk of the Tether token gradually losing its value vs the fiat USD.

The USDT/USD peg 1:1 has been broken and constant attempts to sell-off the pair seen as investors look to liquidate their Tether for USD.

The general public learning that Bitfinex and Tether, both run by the same CEO, were sent subpoenas back in Dec 2017.

Bitfinex slowing down the printing of Tether as a potential correlation for the acceleration of losses in the market?

Have your pick, but as mentioned above, market movements should be perceived from a stance of ‘probabilities’ rather than fixated by single elements that are causing such volatile swings. In a market that remains largely unregulated, in which daily ranges can stretch out of whack, one should apply the same thinking when trying to de-code what drives, what’s still a rather chaotic ‘trading’ environment, amid some ‘outstanding’ technology being developed.

On the positive side, the fact that what not long ago was seen as fairly hefty levels in Bitcoin and Alts, is now judged as opportunities to potentially engage in discounted long-sided business, is certainly very encouraging. The crypto market hit its own plateau in late Dec/early Jan, and ever since, the process of going down to gain impulse for a possible next leg up is part of the natural laws of evolution. It’s just that the down-phase feels like a rollercoaster ride, not that unforeseen considering the recent exuberance.

In terms of industry-broad stories, the Indian Blockchain Committee Head clarified that cryptocurrency isn’t illegal in India and that the government is embracing the technology. In Japan, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the financial regulators, raided the office of Coincheck, the virtual currency exchange which was hacked on 26th January. FedEx joined Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), an organization focused on the development of blockchain standards. JD.com, one of the largest e-commerce retailers in Asia, announced that it joined Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

We were also glad to report that in an effort to raise funds for Syrian refugee children, UNICEF launched a new project titled “Game Chainger.” In another piece of encouraging news, in order to fully reimburse all the users who were affected in the NiceHash hack, the company has created a Repayment program scheme which starts from the 2nd of February.

As per project-centered news, IOTA released their due diligence report for the DRC Community. Stellar confirmed the availability of its Desktop Client V 3.4. It was also noticed that Waltonchain took big steps by securing a partnership with Fujian ST Electronics. The Cardano Foundation announced it is increasing its security by integrating ledger hardware wallet. Ethos joined forces with tax prep App Taxfyle, to make handling one’s taxes as seamless and painless as possible. Request Network released their project updates in a blog post. Santander is rolling out its Ripple-powered mobile app to customers this quarter. Sia announced its decentralized cloud storage platform available for download to Android client on the Google Store.

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