Crypto Today: Bitcoin oscillates in a tight range, altcoins directionless

Here's what you need to know on 

Markets:

BTC/USD is changing hands at $6,350, down 1.5% on a day-to-day basis. The coin attempted a recovery above $6,500 on Tuesday, but failed to hold the ground. Currently, BTC is currently moving within a short-term bearish trend amid shrinking volatility. 

At the time of writing, ETH/USD is changing hands at $133.00, mostly unchanged both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Wednesday. The second-largest coin hit the Asian high at $133.59. Now ETH/USD is moving in a short-term bullish trend amid high volatility.

XRP/USD stays above $0.1700, but the upside is limited. The coin has been moving in a tight range with short-term bearish bias. 

Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies ICON (ICX) $0.2363 (+15.6%),Waves (WAVES) $0.9506 (+14.7%),IOTA (MIOTA) $0.1549 (+8.6%) are in the green zone. The day's losers are Nervos Network (CKB) $0.0039 (-8.6%), Streamr DATAcoin (DATA) $0.0430 (-7.9%), Steem (STEEM) $0.1577 (-4.5%).

Chart of the day:

BTC/USD, 1-hour chart

Market

The global cryptocurrency data provider CoinMarketCap treated users with the Fool's Day joke. The site displays A Toilet Paper Token that has gained over 1,000% in recent 24 hours. Notably, the price chart of the asset suspiciously resembles the place where the token's base asset is usually applied. 

The cryptocurrency market was set to have a stellar quarter. The first digital coin has gained over 50% when it hit the recent high above $10,000 in February. However, the situation changed drastically in March, when the traditional markets started collapsing amid COVID-19 pandemic and oil price war launched by Russia and Saudi Arabia. BTC/USD has lost nearly 10% since the beginning of the year and lived through one of its worst months. However, cryptocurrency experts believe that the worst may be over. Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index flashes first buy signal in the recent 24 months, while a sustainable recovery above $6,000 improved the short-term technical picture. 

A lone whale on Kraken purchased over 1,000 BTC and pushed BTC/USD to $6,800 for a fraction of time. The upside move proved to be unsustainable and was not registered on other trading platforms. Large transactions often trigger massive price movements due to relatively low market liquidity. However, traders should be wary of such transactions as sometimes deep-pocket hodlers use their power to manipulate the market and earn a quick buck at the expense of the retail traders.

Industry

A cryptocurrency exchange service provider CoinEx announced a partnership deal with an Israel-based payment company Simplex to allow users to buy cryptocurrency with Visa and MasterCard.  This collaboration enables CoinEx users to pay for major digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and USDT with USD, EUR and CAD are supported. Haipo Yang, Founder and CEO of CoinEx, commented:

We are thrilled to be partnering with Simplex to lower the threshold for more people to enter the crypto world. This is also a milestone for CoinEx, as it’s the first fiat onramp we integrated to our platform. We endeavor to provide our current and potential users with more convenient functions.

 

Bitcoin gambling may become a primary driver for the global online gambling market in the next few years, according to the research, provided by ResearchAndMarkets.com. The report offers a detailed analysis of the current global market environment and reveals the latest trends and catalysts. In 2020-2024, the global online gambling market will be driven mostly by the rising popularity of the freemium model and the introduction of bitcoin gambling. 

A popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched Binance Loan, a platform where any registered user can borrow on its loans. The service supports several digital coins, including BUSD and USDT. Binance Loan offers various loan periods ranging from 7 to 90 days. The interest calculated on a daily basis. Borrowers will have an allowed overdue period of three days with increased interest. If they fail to repay the loan after this period expires, their collateral will be liquidated.

Regulation

The Bank of France wants to explore the potential of digital euro and the underlying technology. Thus the regulator has called  for applications that will help identify real use cases and benefits of integrating central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the "procedures for the clearing and settlement of tokenized financial assets."

The challenge of these experiments is not to replace these two existing forms of central money, but to identify how innovative technologies could improve the efficiency and fluidity of payment systems and financial infrastructures, allowing a better financial sector to ensure the smooth financing of the economy.

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