Cryptocurrencies were higher for most part of the week and continued the trend amid lot of optimism regarding the outlook for Ethereum, which breached the $800 mark Friday morning. The most optimistic view this week was that Ethereum would replace Bitcoin as the top cryptocurrency in due course.
The crypto market braved the FUD surrounding Bitcoin and is now looking forward to a breakout in the top cryptocurrency to above $10,000. Bitcoin had its best monthly gain since December in April.
This week, there was news of Wall Street giants moving ahead with their plans from cryptocurrency operations.
And the blockchain space remained abuzz with news of fresh adoptions and new developments.
Here is a collection of the main stories from the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain this week, thus far.
Bitcoin Surged Nearly 33% In April, Ethereum Tops $800
Bitcoin surged nearly 33 percent against the US dollar in April, marking the best month since December 2017, when the top cryptocurrency hit a record of around $20,000. The price of Ether broke above $800 Friday, reaching its highest level since March 8. The cryptocurrency native to the Ethereum blockchain climbed by more than 11 percent in 24 hours. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian said in an interview to Fortune that the price of Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, could reach $1,500 by year end. And a reasearch report by the tech investment bank GP Bullhound said Bitcoin and altcoins are likely to under go a 90 percent "mass market wipe out" within the next 12 months that would leave only very few survivors and the top cryptocurrency may lose its dominance to Ethereum in due course.
Cryptocurrency market can grow to $4 trillion from $400 billion now and even reaching $40 trillion is also possible, Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Elsewhere, billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett, said that buying Bitcoin is not investing, but just a gamble.
Goldman To Set Up Bitcoin Trading, Japan's SBI Set To Launch Crypto Exchange
Investment banking major Goldman Sachs is planning to establish bitcoin trading operation, New York Times reported. Morgan Stanley was also reportedly exploring establishing its crypto trading operations. In Asia, Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings plans to launch its cryptocurrency exchange, SBI Virtual Currencies, in summer this year, according to Business Insider Japan. The new exchange would be the country's first wholly bank-owned crypto exchange. Meanwhile, Braclays CEO Jes Staley confirmed that the British banking giant is not immediately launching a cryptocurrency trading desk.
Binance To Invest $15 Million In Bermuda, Citron Slams Square
Binance Group, the operator of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a $15 million investment plan in Bermuda in partnership with the government of the tiny island nation. Meanwhile, the allegations raised by the venture capital firm Sequoia has been denied by its founder and CEO Zhao Changpeng. In the US, Citron Research, the online stock commentary website run by the well-known activist short-seller Andrew Left, stung mobile payment processor Square Inc. with harsh comments that caused the company's shares to fall on Monday. Square is just a "collection of yawn businesses" and their bitcoin trading was insignificant and just a distraction from the core business, Citron said in a post on Twitter. Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by angel investor Peter Thiel, participated in an early-stage funding round for Tagomi, a crypto startup that aims to be a broker-dealer for large clients looking for block trades in cryptocurrencies.
France Slashes Bitcoin Tax, Australia Cracks Down On Misleading ICOs
The French government has slashed the tax on Bitcoin and other crytpocurrencies from 45 percent to 19 percent. Australia's financial regulator is taking action against deceptive and misleading initial coin offerings (ICOs), citing "a serious breach of the Australian law." Elsewhere, Iran has moved fast to develop its own blockchain-based national cryptocurrency, as the Islamic Republic awaits a decision by the U.S. President Donald Trump on restoring economic sanctions. In Dubai, the government teamed up with IBM and others to use the blockchain technology to improve ease of doing business in the region and facilitate foreign direct investments.
Request Network & Wikimedia France Aim For Crypto Donations
Request Network, which describes itself as an Ethereum-based decentralized network that allows anyone, anywhere to request a payment, entered a partnership with Wikimedia France to help the latter integrate Blockchain technology into its platform. Meanwhile, UNICEF Australia started tapping cryptocurrency mining to raise funds for the refugee children in Bangladesh.
Skepticism Dominates British Parliament Blockchain Hearing
A British Parliamentary panel heard evidence on cryptocurrencies and blockchain on Tuesday. Testifying before the Treasury Select Committee, the director of a leading management think tank dismissed the potential for blockchain in finance. Interbank payments startup Ripple's current products and blockchain platforms also came under fire.
BBVA Issues Blockchain-based Corporate Loan
Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA or BBVA, probably become the first bank in the world to issue Blockchain technology-based corporate loans. The solution was developed by BBVA in partnership with Spanish tech consultancy firm Indra based on distributed ledger technology or DLT.
IBM, Jewellery Consortium Form TrustChain, Auto Giants Form Blockchain Coalition
International Business Machines Corp. or IBM has joined with a consortium of gold and diamond companies and a laboratory to launch the TrustChain Initiative, a blockchain network aimed for increased transparency in the jewelry industry. Four of the world's major automobile manufacturers have joined startups and technology companies to form the biggest-ever consortium focused on applying blockchain technology in the automotive sector.
Tutorial: Crypto Lexicon
The crypto terms discussed this week were - BAGHOLDER, LAMBO, MOON, FLIPPENING and SATS.
Current Prices
As of 10.24 am ET on Friday, Bitcoin was up 6.95 percent for the week at $9,625.36 and Ethereum was higher by a massive 20.18 percent at $785.27 on Coinbase.
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