Bitcoin holds firm as we approach the New Year

The past week has generated a lot of crypto news. Bitcoin might have been able to hold its ground but other companies have not been so lucky. Decisions made by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as legal threats by Disney, have cast uncertainty over the crypto market as a whole.

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The SEC has postponed its decision on the Bitcoin-ETF application from Wilshire Phoenix

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed that it needs additional time to rule on Wilshire Phoenix’s application to launch a Bitcoin-ETF tied to the BTC and U.S. government bonds. Now the regulator should decide on the new financial instrument by February 26, 2020. This decision will cause dismay for many crypto investors who were hoping for good news that could boost Bitcon’s fortunes and spark a new bull run.

CoinJoin causes Binance to freeze a client’s funds

Binance’s Singapore division has frozen the assets of a client who had previously used CoinJoin, a service that ensures transaction privacy. CoinJoin makes it difficult for authorities to trace the exact origin of a transaction and is used to enhance privacy.

This triggered Anti Money Laundering (ALM) mechanisms in order to confirm that the client was doing nothing illegal. After investigation the client was able to withdraw his cryptocurrency. While privacy is important to most crypto users they should take caution when using services like CoinJoin, particularly when using regulated exchanges that must follow AML regulations.

Canaan shares fell by 47% in just one month

The value of shares of the Chinese mining company Canaan has dropped to $4.77. This represents a price crash of 47%. In November the company raised $90 million through an IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange with a capitalization of over $1 billion.

The company is likely struggling due to the increase in mining difficulty and the significant pressure on the price of Bitcoin. As mining difficulty continues to increase its going to be a challenge for Canaan to convince investors that they are able to reduce costs, let alone navigate the turbulent crypto market.

The Poloniex exchange has allowed unlimited trading to non-verified accounts

The Poloniex crypto exchange has returned unlimited trading and unlimited deposits for accounts without KYC. The only limit on daily withdrawal is $10,000. This applies to all new users who only need to enter their email to register. They will also be able to participate in contests and use the exchange’s stacking service.

This move, while positive for privacy enthusiasts, could cause long term problems for Poloniex. Many governments are beginning to take crypto regulation seriously and KYC regulations will almost certainly form an important part of this process.

Bitcoin holds steady at $7,000

The Bitcoin rate began to rise sharply and in a few hours increased by $400, briefly exceeding $7600. Sadly this was not the beginning of a new bull run but simply a slight spike in value.

In slightly more positive news Bitcoin didn’t crash below the $7,000 barrier yet, representing a positive development in what has been a difficult year for Cryptocurrency.

Disney Corporation has prevented Tron from registering its trademarks

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected three trademark applications related to Tron’s block project after protests from Disney Corporation.

Representatives of the company explained that the trademarks “TRON”, “TRONNETWORK” and “TRONIX” are already used in the film series. Disney claims that this could cause confusion among customers and as such Tron should now be allowed to register the trademark.

A tough year for cryptocurrency

As 2019 draws to a close it is becoming clear that there is unlikely to be any holiday surge for crypto. That being said moving into 2020 there are some positive signs for the crypto market generally. Germany has begun to open its doors to crypto and other governments seem poised to follow suit.

A number of established financial institutions are also beginning to view cryptocurrency in a more positive light and it is possible that we will see more widespread adoption of blockchain technology over the course of the next year. 

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(Featured image by Aleksi Räisä via Unsplash)

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