The third week of June has been exciting for the cryptocurrency markets. Arguably the biggest news was that the Mt. Gox bankruptcy proceedings will start civil rehabilitation for creditors. A Tokyo court approved the beginning of a process that might finally make victims whole. The crypto community rejoiced, since the decision suggests that liquidation of Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) will stop, and creditors will possibly receive recompense in BTC, not Japanese yen. It is good news that the biggest scandal in Bitcoin's history is moving toward resolution.
Here's the rest of the week in review:
Phil Potter, the chief strategy officer of Bitfinex and Tether, is leaving. The two controversial companies have been mired in serious allegations of fraud and market manipulation over the past year, even though a report released this week helped assuage some fearful investors. Potter stated that he felt alienated as an American citizen as Bitfinex continues to focus away from the US.
A report claims that four individuals have been arrested in Ukraine, charged with running at least six fake crypto websites and stealing funds from users. Apparently the suspected men used their programming skills to create a system for managing the content of exchange sites and propagating fake positive reviews. Ukrainian police are still investigating the extent of monetary damages suffered by victims.
A Fortune article reports that Ripple Labs still wants Coinbase to list its crypto token XRP. This week Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly pushed for Coinbase to add XRP to its roster of four coins. He also argued that XRP is not a security because it serves a utility, does not represent ownership in Ripple Labs, and the XRP blockchain would keep functioning even if Ripple Labs ceases to exist. Garlinghouse compared the relationship between Ripple and XRP to that of Saudi Arabia and crude oil.
A June 18 memo issued by the US House Ethics Committee reminded members of Congress that they should disclose crypto positions worth over $1,000 in their annual financial disclosure reports. The memo also asserts that members cannot earn more than $28,050 per year from activities like mining. If members follow this guidance, the required disclosures will likely shed light on which representatives are most enthusiastic about crypto, as well as the possible incidence of insider trading in government.
Crypto prices plunged once again this week in the wake of the Bithumb exchange hack, stricter Japanese regulations, and overall gloomy sentiment. The total market capitalization now sits just above the critical $250 billion level. The majors have generally outperformed altcoins like EOS and Decred (DCR), as investors fly to safety. The daily moving average convergence divergence (MACD) went negative and hints that more bearish pressure is to come, but there should also be some support at current cheap prices.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.