This weeks top stories in Bitcoin: The Price of Bitcoin has taken a tumble, Bitcoin Cash comes under scrutiny as prices skyrocket following its release on Gdax and Coinbase, Futures Trader LedgerX bets $1 Million on Bitcoin being $50,000 next year, and South Koreas’ “Youbit” exchange collapses after its second hack this year.
South Korea’s “Youbit” exchange collapses following its 2nd hack since April
A South Korean cryptocurrency trading platform released a statement on Tuesday saying that they have been forced into filing for bankruptcy, due to the damage of yet another hack on their exchange. Earlier in April of this year, Youbit was the victim of a cyber attack that resulted in the loss of nearly 4000 Bitcoins which hold a current value of $53 Million. The most recent hack, which took place on Tuesday at 4:35 am local time has allegedly caused Youbit to have lost 17% worth of their total assets. The damage has been felt by Youbit and they are bound to close down.
While they have not given specifics of the actual amount of Bitcoin that they have lost, they have said that their customer’s cryptocurrency assets will be marked down to 75 percent of their value across the board. Youbit has also made the decision to stop trading and their main focus at the moment is to prevent any further monetary loss for their customers. KISA, The Korea Internet and Security Agency, have announced that they are looking into the hacking and will be aided by the South Korean Police in their investigation.
Speculative investors bet $1 million on Bitcoin rising to $50,000 next year
Just how much more will Bitcoins value increase? Some aren’t so hopeful of any more long-term growth, saying that the bubble will pop eventually and cause the price to plummet. However much of the crypto community is more hopeful that its current bull market will keep on going right up to $50,000. This has been made apparent by the fact that an anonymous investor has just put $1 Million on the hopes that Bitcoin does just that, and it will give him the right to purchase 275 more units of the virtual currency for $50,000 a piece.
Bitcoin only opened this year at around $1000, but it has had a remarkable period of growth and was very close to breaking $20,000 this month. A jump to $50,000 would indicate close to a 150% increase in Bitcoin’s all-time high. For the moment though, that jump is not looking all that promising and is not off to the ideal start one might have hoped for. The price of Bitcoin has taken a hit recently and has stumbled to a recent low of $15,000.
Bitcoin Cash – A victim of insider trading and manipulation?
Following the release of Bitcoin Cash onto Coinbase, the CEO of the crypto exchange came out to say that an investigation into the price spike of Bitcoin Cash is underway. This is related to the unusual trading patterns that took place after its issuing onto the website. This statement was in reaction to Bitcoins shock jump up to $8000, twice what it was valued at on various other crypto exchanges earlier in the week. The CEO, Brian Armstrong, has stated that he is not afraid to take legal action if it comes to light that insider trading has been a playing factor in the erratic movement of Bitcoin Cash.
“Given the price increase in the hours leading up the announcement, we will be conducting an investigation into this matter. If we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies — directly or indirectly — I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action.”
This recent controversy is the most recent example of the apprehension and mistrust that still surrounds cryptocurrency, even as more and more people continue to invest every day.
Bitcoins price takes a tumble
From an all-time high of nearly $20,000 per virtual coin, Bitcoin has been the victim of a significant drop in price to under $15,000. That is a 20% decrease and is a cause of concern for Bitcoin owners across the globe. Some have theorized that the drop in price is due to the long-unresolved issued within the Bitcoin infrastructure, and the general air of unease it has produced in the world of cryptocurrency. A lot of this is to do with the huge fees associated with Bitcoin. Users actually trying to complete purchases with Bitcoin have been subject to insanely high transaction fees, these fees have been on the rise for the past few years due in turn to a highly crowded network that continues to grow in size.
Although it has grown more than 1,900% since January, a few dips and crashes over the next few months could now be in store for Bitcoin. However despite Bitcoins lack if stability, it has more or less bounced back from every dip. Price volatility is nothing new in cryptocurrency and long-term investors will not really be swayed by recent incremental crashes in price. With Bitcoin becoming more well known by the “average Joe” every day, new waves of investors are flocking to it more and more and its break for $20K may come sooner than anticipated.
