On October 15, Bitcoin has passed the mark of $60,000, the first time since early April. During the past several days, it went even further and increased in value by 6%. You can also follow the fluctuations in a live mode (in various crypto pairs as well) and see the stable growth with your own eyes. But BTC wasn’t the only newsmaker of the week and below we are going to highlight the most significant events that shaped the crypto market.
Governments are showing interest
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are extremely popular in lots of spheres. With their help, you can shop online, book tickets, and even play at Bitcoin casino sites all over the world. However, governments always stood separately and weren’t happy about a decentralized and unregulated financial market. But they see that the crypto is here to stay and need to reckon with it.
For that reason, G7 has published 13 guidelines for retail Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). They aim to support the financial policies and boost discussions within the group. This inter-governmental forum consists of seven countries: Canada, Germany, France, the US, the UK, Japan, and Italy. Thus, if the guidelines take root, many other countries will surely follow.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin showed support for using crypto as a payment method. Earlier, crypto trading in Russia, as well as in China, was banned in full.
The approval of futures exchange-traded fund (ETF)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC is going to approve the first Bitcoin ETF trading in the next several weeks which is surely the most important and anticipated news not only for crypto holders but potential investors. After many years of discussions, this can be a watershed moment for the whole crypto industry.
Experts believe that this will attract millions of investors to the market and allow trading without a need for underlying assets. According to Gary Gensler, the chairmen at SEC, the exchange-traded funds are filed under the mutual fund requirements which give investors the necessary level of protection.
Let us remind you that ETF, Bitcoin futures, is a fund that allows receiving investment exposure to the BTC prices without a need to purchase the coin directly. Exchange-traded funds represent a huge variety of assets and are strictly regulated. Participants can buy and sell parts of the ETF as if they are doing operations with stocks. These parts can be bought or sold when the market is open. Investors in the Bitcoin futures can profit from the BTC price movements thanks to the linked futures contracts. They don’t have to track numerous assets and follow the price fluctuations.
Payment companies are ready to cooperate
After the cryptocurrency emerged, many payment enterprises and startups have sunk into oblivion. This created a rather serious tension and divided the financial market into two teams: the crypto and against-crypto. However, blockchain technology has become so popular that more and more companies start implementing it into their structure and developing additional services to connect two worlds. For example, Strike has launched the Pay Me In Bitcoin product which allows converting salaries into BTC without any fees involved. Strike, by the way, also stands behind the BTC tipping on Twitter.
Another example is a US-based financial company, Square, which is planning to create a BTC mining system that is based on customized silicon. Jack Dorsey, the CEO at Square, claims that it will be a real breakthrough for the industry.
What to expect
At the moment, Bitcoin balances on different exchanges equal 2.4 million which is the lowest indicator for the past three years. This shows that investors are interested in the coin even though its price is sky-rocking. Moreover, the analysts predict that the price will continue to increase and break all the records. They say that Bitcoin will occupy more than 50% of the crypto market and it will take ETH and other altcoins at least several weeks to restore a positive dynamic.
Stay tuned and we will continue following the news and providing you with the latest updates!
About the author:
Written by Grace Tennet, a content creator working at NZCasinoHex. Grace is responsible for writing unbiased reviews of the latest game releases and preparing in-depth guides about the payment providers cooperating with online gambling platforms.