Today on Altcoins This Week:
NSA Tracking Bitcoin Users
A document leaked through the Edward Snowden papers revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been actively tracking Bitcoin owners using a program called OAKSTAR and another, MONEYROCKET, to identify users making transactions since 2013. The document published by The Intercept shows codenames and details of the operation that has been carried out by the NSA. If proven to be true, this action could lead to fear in the market and large price drops.
Trump Bans the PetroCoin
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning American citizens from buying or using the Venezuelan cryptocurrency called PetroCoin. This comes as a part of a series of actions that the US government has taken against the dictatorship of Maduro.
Since the launch of the PetroCoin, the cryptocurrency has been shrouded in mystery and there has even been speculation as to whether it exists in reality. The truth of how it works and what holds its value is unknown to most people. President Maduro claimed that on the launch of the currency it had raised $5 billion dollars.
Additionally, President Trump announced that there would be more sanctions against the Maduro regime due to the continuous uncovering of lack of human rights in the country, the excessive showcase of military presence and violence, and the links that tied the government to huge drug cartels in the world.
Bittrex to Delist 82 Altcoins
As part of their change in the Policy Terms of Service and in compliance with the SEC regulations on cryptocurrencies, Bittrex has announced that it will be delisting 82 cryptocurrencies from the exchange by March 30th. It was noted that some of the coins were being delisted due to broken blockchains, wallets that will not allow withdrawals, and thin liquidity.
The tokens affected by this announcement are: 8BIT, ADC, AM, AMS, APEX, ARB, BITS, BITZ, BLC, BOB, BSTY, BTA, CCN, CRBIT, CRYPT, DAR, DGC, DRACO, DTC, FC2, FRK, FSC2, GEMZ, GHC, GP, GRT, HKG, HYPER, HZ, J, KR, LXC, MAX, MEC, METAL, MND, MTR, MZC, NAUT, NET, NEU, NTRN, OC, ORB, PRIME, PXI, ROOT, SCOT, SCRT, SFR, SLG, SLING, SOON, SPRTS, SSD, STEPS, STV, SWING, TES, TIT, TRI, TRK, U, UFO, UNIQ, UNIT, UNO, UTC, VIOR, VIRAL, VPN, WARP, XAUR, XBB, XC, XCO, XDQ, XPY, XQN, XSEED, XTC and YBC.
Bittrex has expressed their commitment to incubating new blockchain projects and ensuring that the tokens listed on their platform are in compliance with the US law and, therefore, are not considered securities. Additionally, Bittrex established their willingness to help the US government, SEC and any other regulators in the industry to develop a more secure, fully-regulated environment for blockchain that encourages innovation and economic growth.
G20: Assets and July Regulations
As the G20 conference closed in Argentina, there is good news for the crypto sector. Thanks to the statement made by the Financial Stability Board Chair, Mark Carney, prices were positively affected. The G20 conference did share their concerns and came to a general consensus that there might be a move on tighter regulations between the member countries by July. This comes as a response to latest developments in the industry that have affected thousands of people worldwide.
The G20 participants also demonstrated their lean towards the view that cryptocurrencies were assets and not actual currencies, a view which may have further ramifications through tax authorities in the near future.
Another Tough Week for Altcoins
Ethereum had another volatile seven days, starting out at a $600 mark for the first half then dropping $100 over the weekend partially due to the Twitter crypto ads ban rumor; after that it showed a sudden further flash fall of $40, which is speculated to have been caused by a massive sell by the EOS blockchain. It then recovered back up to the $550 mark and has been slowly improving over the last few days getting up to $570 now.
Most of the market followed a similar pattern: Ripple went down to 54 cents, holding at 96 at present. Cardano performed a little above these figures, having a stronger bounce back on the second half, starting at 18.8 cents and then up to 21 cents.
EOS beat the market performance by not dipping, enjoying a great week coming from $4.87 to $6.71, all powered by expectations of their network launch. ICON, a very strong week, too, coming from $2.20 all the way to $4 at present which could be given to their listing on BIthumb and then strong marketing. TRON followed market averages 2.8 cents to 3.8 cents but could show improvement with test net launch.
At the moment the market seems to be catching its breath after a slight recovery. Judging on the last few hours, the market will keep its pattern of behavior for a few more weeks.
