The cryptocurrency market took a massive tumble in the week following the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) announcement that it would postpone its ruling on whether to allow the listing of the CBOE VanEck/SolidX exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by Bitcoin (BTC) to September 30. In the ensuing panic, the total market capitalization dropped to as low as $189 billion, levels not seen since November of last year.
However, since hitting that low on Tuesday, the market experienced a fairly sizeable altcoin bounce that brought back more than $35 billion in total capitalization. The relief rally intensified late in the week as major blockchain projects like Nanocurrency (NANO) and VeChain (VET) hit key technological milestones and system updates.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Binance LCX, a joint venture between Binance and LCX, has announced the launch of an upcoming fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange. Binance is set to provide and maintain the platform, while Binance LCX manages customer support, due diligence, legal requirements, KYC, AML and government communications. Binance LCX plans to build a team of roughly 10-15 individuals to fulfill the venture in their Lichtenstein office.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, founders of crypto exchange Gemini, are not too fazed by the recent SEC decision. Instead, while they wait for Wall Street and the SEC to get on board with crypto, Gemini will focus on expanding its product offering focused on retail investors.
Toshi, the Ethereum mobile wallet, has recently rebranded as Coinbase Wallet. The app, develped by Coinbase, has been revitalized with a new name as the service merges into a larger effort to invest in products set to define the future of the decentralized web.
Bitmain, a leading ASIC chip maker and crypto mining hardware manufacturer, owns more than $570 million in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) holdings, according to a pre-IPO investor deck. Bitmain holds 1,021,316 BCH, which it purchased at an average price of $869. While this represented a total holding of around $887 million at the time of the statement, BCH has since fallen in value to $573, which means Bitmain suffered a loss of about $317 million in just a quarter.
Crypto prices fell again this week, testing a new support level before rebounding slightly above $200 billion. As we head into the next week, investors will likely keep their eye on the price action of BTC, as it has been denied by the $6,500 to $6,600 range of resistance multiple times and currently sits at around 51% market dominance. Volatility has decreased in range-bound trading, meaning a big move could be impending. How BTC acts here will likely indicate the next major movement.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.