Crypto Today: Bitcoin recovers after a short-lived dip below $7,000

Here's what you need to know on Friday

Markets: 

• The BTC/USD is currently trading at $7,190 (+3.5% since the start of the day). The coin has been moving within a strong bullish trend in Asian amid rising volatility.
• The ETH/USD pair is currently trading at $129.2 (+1.6% since the start of the day). The Ethereum recovered from the intraday low of $125.8, though it has failed to settle above the critical $130.00.
• XRP/USD tries to settle above $0.19 area after a sharp sell-off on Thursday. At the time of writing, the coin has gained 1.5% since the beginning of the day.
• Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are BlockStamp (BST) $1.59 (+298.85%), Decentraland (MANA) )$0.0338 (+6.75%) and Nash Exchange (NEX) $0.9594 (+6.68%). The day's losers are EDUCare (EKT) $0.0387 (-12.8%), Waves (WAVES) $0.9423 (-8.72%), iExec RLC (RLC) $0.3891 (-6.61%).

Chart of the day:
BTC/USD, 4-hour chart

Market:

• An aggregated hash rate in Bitcoin's network hit a new record at 119.35 EH/s on January 1 amid growing mining difficulty. According to popular opinion, the hash rate increase should result in price growth. However, the correlation is not straightforward, as, traditionally, there is a time gap between the growing has power and a resultant bullish trend. If history any guide, we still have a few months before the price will start growing. 

Industry: 

• Bitmain, the world's leading producer of Bitcoin mining equipment, has launched a personnel optimization plan. Directly speaking, the company plans massive lay-offs in an attempt to streamline its business processes ahead of Bitcoin halving. People familiar with the matter, departments engaged in AI (artificial intelligence) business will be affected as this unit does not generate profits. 
• The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, believes that this year will become pivotal for the cryptocurrency industry as governments around the world will rush to adopt blockchain technology and cry[tocurrency in one form or another. This trend will further erase a borderline between traditional finances and crypto, and create strong bullish sentiments on the market. 

Regulation:

• Thee South Korean government is working on legislation that will allow taxing profits earned from cryptocurrencies. At this stage, the authorities cannot tax individuals' profits from cryptocurrency transactions, South Korea's government stated on December 30. However, the National Tax Service imposed a tax bill on local crypto exchange Bithumb worth $68.9 million. Naturally, Bithumb plans to file an appeal to avoid paying the bill, while the government plans to create a robust law.

Quote of the day: