Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency market traders are sitting on the fence, waiting for new catalysts. Bitcoin and major altcoins are somewhat directionless during early Asian hours. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization is $233 billion, unchanged from this time on Sunday; an average daily trading volume dropped to $56 billion. Bitcoin's market share settled at 65.9%.

BTC/USD is locked in a tight range limited by $8,500 on the upside and $8,400 on the downside. At the time of writing. the first digital coin is changing hands at $8,465, mostly unchanged both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Sunday.

BTC/USD, 1-hour chart

Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset with the current market capitalization of $19.8 billion, has settled above $181.00 after a short-lived dip to $177.05 on November 15. ETH/USD has stayed unchanged in recent 24 hours amid low trading activity. The further recovery is limited by the upper line of 1-hour Bollinger Band at $183.30 followed by Saturday's low of $183.45.

Ripples XRP is moving within a side channel, in line with the general trend on the cryptocurrency market. The coin bottomed at $0.2525 on November 15 and settled at $0.2615 by the time of writing. XRP/USD is the third digital coin with the current market value of $11.4. The coin may be vulnerable to further losses if fails to recover above $0.2620 (SMA50 1-hour) and $0.2630 (the upper line of 1-hour Bollinger Band) any time soon.

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The cryptocurrency market update: Bitcoin and major altcoins pass the time in ranges - FXStreet

The BBC Russian Service has released a new report arguing that $450 million in Bitcoin that went missing from the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Wex may have been transferred to wallets owned by Federal Security Service (FSB) employees. After those funds were lost in 2018, an embezzlement case was opened to investigate their disappearance. BBC reporters who examined the documents associated with that case found that the Bitcoin may have been transferred to FSB accounts by Wex founder Alexander Bilyuchenko himself.

The Wex exchange was founded as a successor to BTC-e, which had become the largest Russian-based forum for cryptocurrency transactions since its founding in 2011. U.S. government officials alleged that at least $4 billion were embezzled from BTC-e in the course of its existence. In 2017, a warrant from the United States led to the arrest of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik during a visit to Greece. Vinnik was thought to have benefited financially from the exchange. Meanwhile, the btc-e.com domain was frozen by the FBI.

Wex promised to return some of the funds its clients had lost in their dealings on BTC-e. The new exchange was founded by Alexander Bilyuchenko, who was Vinniks business partner, along with Dmitry Vasilyev, who was among BTC-es highest-volume clients. Vasilyev was named Wexs official owner.

In the summer of 2018, Wex clients wallets were suddenly frozen, and funds could only be removed from them at a 90-percent loss. It then came to light that an amount of cryptocurrency worth more than $400 million had disappeared from the exchange. Wexs Russian clients began submitting complaints to the police en masse, leading Russian law enforcement officials to open an embezzlement investigation. After the summer 2018 scandal, the exchange was sold to the family of Dmitry Khavchenko, a former separatist fighter in the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic who is reportedly close to the oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.

According to the BBC Russian Service, Bilyuchenko and Vasilyev contacted Malofeev as early as the beginning of 2018, when they were on the hunt for influential patrons for their exchange. At the time, Bilyuchenko and Malofeev agreed to use Wex as a foundation to build a new exchange that would serve as specialized accounting infrastructure to protect the financial and economic sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Bilyuchenko later testified that he was contacted by FSB agents around the same time as his negotiations with the oligarch and was even called in for questioning at the agencys headquarters in Moscows Lubyanka Square. In April of 2018, Bilyuchenko said, an individual named Anton demanded that the cryptocurrency exchange founder hand over a flash drive containing encrypted Wex assets. Anton allegedly said that the cryptocurrency in the exchange would go to the account of the FSB of Russia. The BBC described Anton as a former FSB employee; whether he was still working for the agency at the time of his conversation with Bilyuchenko is unclear. In any case, the exchange head said he was placed in a holding cell and kept under guard until he agreed to transfer an amount of cryptocurrency valued at $450 million.

Even then, according to Bilyuchenkos testimony, the FSB did not stop exerting pressure on the exchange: Agents asked him to turn over Wexs user database. The BBC Russian Service obtained a recording of a telephone conversation that presumably took place between Bilyuchenko and Malofeev in the summer of 2018. In the recording, someone with a voice identical to Malofeevs says that Bilyuchenko is suspected of holding back some of the money he promised to transfer. Theyre letting you stay afloat because Ive been telling them youre mine and Im answering for you, the voice explains, adding that youll have to hand over the database in any case.

Story by Andrey Zakharov for the BBC Russian Service

Summary by Grigory Levchenko

Translation by Hilah Kohen

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Crypto-corruption In 2018, a major Russian cryptocurrency exchange lost $450 million in Bitcoin. Now, the exchange's founder is saying he transferred...

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is reportedly developing a cryptocurrency platform,The Logic reports.

If launched, the banks customers will be able to trade in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin BTC and Ethereum.

The bank, one of the countrys largest,is also looking to let customers open cryptocurrency accounts.

According to The Block, one of the banks patent applications says the following:

To individual users, managing cryptographic keys and transacting with different cryptographic assets can be a challenge. In some situations, cryptographic asset transactions may take time to be confirmed, and/or may not be compatible or supported by merchant systems or point-of-sale devices.

But, Jean Francois Thibault, an RBC spokesperson told the Logic that the bank like many other organizations, files patent applications to ensure proprietary ideas and concepts are protected. Thibault declined to comment further.

Although little is known at this stage, this is not the first time that abank has dipped its toes into the blockchain space.

In September 2017, Reuters reported that the bank was experimenting with blockchain in a bid to facilitate payments between its US and Canadian banks.

More recently, RBC and several other Canadian banks started using blockchain technology to allow customers to digitally prove their identity.

Blockchains potential to maximize efficiency and significantly reduce costs has been lauded for some time, so its hardly surprising that banks are trying to jump on the blockchain bandwagon.

Its just ironic that Satoshi Nakamoto originally invented the technology to circumvent the mainstream financial system but here we are, the suits always take over.

Published November 12, 2019 11:03 UTC

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Big Canadian bank rumored to offer cryptocurrency accounts, Bitcoin trading - The Next Web

A Swiss bank set up to handle both traditional financial products and new digital currencies has been given the go-ahead by the countrys regulators.

SEBA, the Swiss-based cryptocurrency bank, is now officially operational, The Block reports.

The bank reportedly shared a statement with The Block yesterday that said its Swiss clients can now open accounts with the bank. This goes for corporate businesses, asset managers, and professional private investors.

Launched earlier this year, the bank received its banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in August.

SEBA says its trying to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets, whilst maintaining high levels of security. At the moment, the bank supports five cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, BTC Ethereum, Stellar, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic.

Customers will be able to manage their asset accounts through an app and online banking. According to the statement, users will be able to convert cryptocurrencies into traditional currencies and back again all within these online services.

According to SEBAs road map, the next phase is to roll out its offering to international customers, before expanding its product offering. However, there are no dates attached to this timeline so theres no knowing how long either of those developments will take.

Its a bit of a politically conflicting situation depending on your perspective.

Many cryptocurrency and Bitcoin businesses have struggled to work with traditional banks. Regulatory uncertainty, and Bitcoins checkered past have led banks to tread cautiously when dealing with cryptocurrency businesses.

SEBAs offering could open a few doors for crypto companies that have so far struggled to get a foothold in the traditional banking system.

However, a bank holding your Bitcoin in custodial storage? While that might prevent you from losing your private key, it comes with a number of obvious sacrifices.

SEBA joins competitor bank Sygnum AG, which received a license from FINMA back in September.

Switzerland has been one of the more progressive nations when it comes to cryptocurrency businesses. Last year, it allowed blockchain startups to apply for a FinTech license that would let them handle deposits of up to $100 million.

Published November 13, 2019 09:49 UTC

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Switzerland gets another Bitcoin bank that holds cryptocurrency for customers - The Next Web

Crypto ban bill is unlikely to be introduced in the winter session

The government will introduce the Personal Data Protection Bill

The Prohibition of E-Cigarettes Bill, 2019 is also to be introduced to replace the existing Ordinance

The lower house of the parliament, the Lok Sabha has released the tentative list of bills that Indias government is expected to introduce and pass during the upcoming Winter Session. Interestingly, while the Personal Data Protection Bill has made the cut the Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019, is missing.

Preparing the draft Bill, the Garg Committee, in April, had recommended not only a complete on cryptocurrency trading in India; but also recommended a huge penalty and up to 10 years of imprisonment for trading or holding cryptocurrency assets.

Despite the fact that the Loksabha Bulletin has released only a tentative list and is subject to change, it has definitely brought some momentary relief to the cryptocurrency community of India who has welcomed the news and expectedly so.

In a slew of cryptocurrency-related cases being heard in the Supreme Court of India, the Indian government had submitted the draft of the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency 2019 and solicitor general Tushar Mehta had then informed the judges that the bill would be introduced in the parliament once it reconvenes.

The Supreme Court, in its August 8 hearing had even stated,

We have also been shown the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019, which, according to the learned Solicitor General, may be introduced when Parliament is reconvened.

The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has extended her full support to the draft Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019, stating that the decision has not been taken is not in isolation, but in sync with global markets.

Surprisingly, Indias largest bank State Bank of India has taken a more sophisticated stance on cryptocurrency. Instead of banning crypto, the SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar has favoured regulating cryptocurrency. He recently commented,

The way the world is moving towards digitisation, at some stage, a regulated cryptocurrency would be a better bet than an unregulated oneLets see. Because theres a dark side of the internet also. There can be a misuse of digital currencies. That is why regulation is a must.

The government holding off on any plans of a complete prohibition of cryptocurrency trading could also be seen in sync with some recent global developments. While China is believed to have softened its stance, reports have also emerged that India, China and Russia are looking at a possibility of a common cryptocurrency to counter the US Dollar.

Speaking at BRICS Summit on November 14, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said that the five BRICS nations had also discussed creating a common cryptocurrency for mutual payments as the grouping was reducing the share of payments in the U.S. dollar.

The list also includes the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019. The government had earlier banned ecigarettes through an ordinance. The bill once enacted will replace the ordinance.

The development has come at a time when Bombay High Court, in a recent hearing, allowed ecigarette makers and distributors to resume sale of the product as it is not a drug. Observing that the action taken against them by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) was not sustainable, the HC directed it to release the seized stock of ecigarettes.

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Banning Cryptocurrency Is Not On Indian Parliaments Winter Session Agenda - Inc42 Media

Bear market-weary cryptocurrency traders often ask when moon/lambo or other representation of their fortunes turning around. In particular, though, Ive heard the concept of alt season often repeated recently by traders invested in projects other than Bitcoin, which has fared significantly better to date than most other cryptocurrencies since the 2018 crash. What are the signs that the markets will turn back towards the rest of the sector? I can give you one tried and true metric to watch: Bitcoin scaling.

Bitcoins absolute market dominance has slowly, and unsurprisingly, trended down over time

Since the inception of what has come to be known as the alt sector, Bitcoins percentage of the total value of all cryptocurrencies and related digital assets has slowly declined. This is no indictment of Bitcoin and should come as no surprise to anyone that the first of its kind and overwhelming industry leader would gradually lose its omnipresence as the space diversifies and grows. New projects enter to fill specific use cases improperly served by the one-size-fits-all model, and still more projects target purpose completely outside of Bitcoins scope. Rather than being attributable to any concept of alt season, this is simply the natural progression of the space.

When you look at the Bitcoin dominance percentage chart, youll see exactly that: a slow decline as more and more market share goes to the rest of the rapidly-growing field. This is the natural process of diversification and maturity in the industry, and is a great and expected sign that we should expect to continue consistently over the next several years.

The timing of 2017s alt season was no coincidence

Now, if you looked at the above chart, youll see something that doesnt look quite so natural: a giant tumble in the dominance percentage starting in early 2017, clearly breaking the gradual trend seen previously. Of course, economies are complex, and many different factors (such as Ethereums surge) may contribute to an event such as this, but the timing seems eerily coincidental to the time of the first serious Bitcoin scaling issues. Around that time, the demand by users seeking to access the network far exceeded the supply of available space in the blockchain. Naturally, one effect of this is to drive up the prices of transactions, but another was to cause consumers to seek other avenues for transacting in cryptocurrency. And, of course, in order to use a cryptocurrency you first have to buy some. Hence the great alt season of 2017.

This congestion issue paired with surging consumer demand caused the valuation of all other cryptocurrencies combined to spike versus Bitcoin, with Ethereum even coming close to dethroning it as the most valued cryptocurrency. Since then, the bear market has taken a lot of the demand out of the market, and many actors moved off of Bitcoin to other chains permanently, allowing the space to return to the previous trend line as Bitcoin became usable again. But this incident nonetheless shows exactly what can happen if such a situation were to be replicated.

All it takes is another run on the banks to kick off the flippening

Now, years into the ongoing bear market after the incredible surge of late 2017, were primed for another explosion in user demand. And just like last time, Bitcoin scaling has still not been solved. Just recently, we saw a massive spike in the mempool of unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions. While this very likely did not represent a sudden growth in consumer demand, it filled up the network regardless, with extreme ease. If something like this were to happen again at a time when the demand for cryptocurrency was rapidly growing, we could easily see another massive spillover to other chains, and a corresponding flip in valuations as alt season begins.

Dont ask when alt season? Watch for clear indicators. One of them may be the Bitcoin mempool.

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What Could Trigger the Next Cryptocurrency Alt Season? - Dash News

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Project Syndicate) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was at least half right when he recently told the United States Congress that there is no U.S. monopoly on regulation of next-generation payments technology.

You may not like Facebooks FB, +1.01% proposed Libra (pseudo) cryptocurrency, Zuckerberg implied, but a state-run Chinese digital currency with global ambitions is perhaps just a few months away, and you would probably like that even less.

Perhaps Zuckerberg went too far when he suggested that the imminent rise of a Chinese digital currency could undermine overall dollar BUXX, -0.13% dominance of global trade and finance at least the large part that is legal, taxed, and regulated.

In fact, U.S. regulators have vast power not only over domestic entities but also over any financial firms that need access to dollar markets, as Europe recently learned to its dismay when the U.S. forced European banks to comply with severe restrictions on doing business with Iran.

Also read: ICO offerings way down, but some still using SEC back door to raise funds

Americas deep and liquid markets, its strong institutions, and the rule of law will trump Chinese efforts to achieve currency dominance for a long time to come. Chinas burdensome capital controls, its limits on foreign holdings of bonds and equities, and the general opaqueness of its financial system leave the yuan USDCNH, +0.0171% (also known as the renminbi) many decades away from supplanting the dollar in the legal global economy.

Control over the underground economy, however, is another matter entirely.

The global underground economy, consisting mainly of tax evasion and criminal activities, but also terrorism, is much smaller than the legal economy (perhaps one-fifth the size), but it is still highly consequential. The issue here is not so much whose currency is dominant, but how to minimize adverse effects.

And a widely used, state-backed Chinese digital currency could certainly have an impact, especially in areas where Chinas interests do not coincide with those of the West.

A U.S.-regulated digital currency could in principle be required to be traceable by U.S. authorities, so that if North Korea were to use it to hire Russian nuclear scientists, or Iran were to use it to finance terrorist activity, they would run a high risk of being caught, and potentially even blocked.

If, however, the digital currency were run out of China, the U.S. would have far fewer levers to pull. Western regulators could ultimately ban the use of Chinas digital currency, but that wouldnt stop it from being used in large parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia, which in turn could engender some underground demand even in the U.S. and Europe.

One might well ask why existing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.04% cannot already perform this function. To an extremely limited extent, they do. But regulators worldwide have huge incentives to rein in cryptocurrencies by sharply proscribing their use in banks and retail establishments.

Such restrictions make existing cryptocurrencies highly illiquid and ultimately greatly limit their fundamental underlying value. Not so for a Chinese-backed digital currency that could readily be spent in one of the worlds two largest economies.

True, when China announces its new digital currency, it would almost surely be permissioned: a central clearing house would in principle allow the Chinese government to see anything and everything. But the U.S. would not.

Facebooks Libra is also designed as a permissioned currency, in its case under the auspices of Swiss regulators. Cooperation with Switzerland, where the currency is officially registered, would surely be much better than with China, despite Switzerlands long tradition of extending privacy to financial transactions, especially with regard to tax evasion.

The fact that Libra will be pegged to the U.S. dollar would give U.S. authorities additional insight, because (at present) all dollar clearing must go through U.S.-regulated entities. Still, given that Libras functionality can largely be duplicated with existing financial instruments, it is hard to see much fundamental demand for Libra except among those aiming to evade detection.

Unless tech-sponsored currencies offer genuinely superior technology and this is not at all obvious they should be regulated in the same way as everyone else.

If nothing else, Libra has inspired many advanced-economy central banks to accelerate their programs to provide broader-based retail digital currencies, and, one hopes, to strengthen their efforts to boost financial inclusion.

But this battle is not simply over the profits from printing currency; ultimately, it is over the states ability to regulate and tax the economy in general, and over the U.S. governments ability to use the dollars global role to advance its international policy aims.

The U.S. currently has financial sanctions in place against 12 countries. Turkey was briefly sanctioned last month after its invasion of Kurdish territory in Syria, though the measures were quickly lifted. For Russia, sanctions have been in place for five years.

Just as technology has disrupted media, politics, and business, it is on the verge of disrupting Americas ability to leverage faith in its currency to pursue its broader national interests. Libra is probably not the answer to the coming disruption posed by government-sanctioned digital currencies from China and elsewhere.

But if not, Western governments need to start thinking about their response now, before it is too late.

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U.S. cant let criminals get the upper hand by using Chinas coming cryptocurrency - MarketWatch

In China, cryptocurrency is being discussed as a new means of reward for soldiers who have done a job well. The official newspaper of the Peoples Liberation Army, PLA Daily, is suggesting that the country's soldiers be rewarded in cryptocurrency, should the blockchain technology become successful in the country.

The mouthpiece for China's military proposed a system where blockchain-based tokens are given to soldiers who earn high marks from their teachers in the initial training periods. Soldiers will also potentially earn crypto rewards when they complete certain tasks or if they excel in a given field.

PLA Daily explained:

To award or deduct tokens according to ones daily performance and thus generate an objective assessment would effectively energize the human resource management.

This suggestion from the military comes after an increased interest in blockchain in China over the last month. In October, Chinese President Jinping endorsed blockchain, claiming it could potentially reinvigorate the Chinese economy.

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China planning to reward its soldiers with cryptocurrency - FXStreet

The American gold rush was marked by a host of hard times and a few sudden millionaires. Men gave up everything to travel to California in hopes of striking it rich. But the man who really struck it rich during the gold rush was Levi Strauss, a simple tailor who made tough cotton pants for the miners.

In the 21st century, the digital gold rush has begun with the creation of cryptocurrencies, and particularly Bitcoin. Early adopters owned thousands of Bitcoin, and these few devotees are now massively wealthy.

As the market has grown, however, the major winners in the space have been companies and individuals who offer services to the Bitcoin faithful. Among these service providers, cryptocurrency exchanges are some of the most lucrative.

However, where profit can be made, competition is sure to follow. As the digital gold rush continues, some question exists as to who will win the war to dominate the cryptocurrency exchange market. A number of exchanges have sought to take a bite out of the market. The key, to date, has been a focus on creativity and value.

Creative conquerors

Creative offerings and marketing strategies have already appeared to work in bringing attention to exchanges. Consider, for example, the creative approach Binance took to bring attention to their exchange platform.

The company offered YouTube influencers a $100K prize for those who could create the best and most helpful video about how to trade on the platform. The result was a massive number of new traders, and a substantial number of videos, all of which focused on bringing new traders to Binance.

The traction from this simple but creative marketing plan produced a huge amount of news time, and subsequently, new users. Binance trading numbers increased dramatically with the increased traffica sure signal that creativity in the market will produce results.

Other smaller companies are offering creative solutions as well. For example, Nominex, a newcomer to the exchange world, is creating a referral program that will drive business in a similar way.

The Nominex Affiliate Program allows users to share a referral link with friends or spread the word about Nominex through media and community. Each referral receives a bonus, and theres no limit to the number of referral levels users receive bonuses from. This is unlike any other exchange where those numbers are generally limited to 2 to 3.

Value proposition

Beyond creativity, as the number of exchanges on the market explodes, cryptocurrency traders are increasingly looking for genuine value. Beyond simply fast trades and low fees, traders are seeking a value proposition that moves beyond the simple offerings of early exchanges.

Again using Nominex as an example of a relative newcomer, the company has offered a series of token distributions for early adopters. First, for a month after the opening of the exchange, all users will receive 100% cashback on all trading fees, paid in NMX, the Nominex native token.

Second, after this first phase, the company will continue returning a portion of trading fees as a pool paid to users each day. These bonuses will be paid on a percentage basis of total transaction volume. For example, if a user had 1% of all transactions on a given day, he would receive 1% of the pool.

Other larger exchanges are seeking to create similar value propositions as well. Again, turning to Binance, the company has begun offering up to 8% interest on its BNB native token for those who use the platforms credit card.

Whats more, the company has also offered to pump certain tokens and companies for free. The main incentive for Binance is to bring a larger user pool onto the site, and the smaller companies (like the recent addition of Perlin) benefit from having the juggernaut crypto exchange on their side.

Junk or jeans?

The future of the cryptocurrency exchange market is still up in the air. But the reality that the market will continue to grow and change cant be denied. Nevertheless, the power for growth in the market must come from creative marketing concepts and genuine value propositions for users.

Just as in legacy financing options, companies must begin finding ways to differentiate themselves. Whether through referral programs, incentivized marketing, or bonuses on their respective networks, the future winners of the digital gold rush will be like Levi Straussselling the best products and the best prices.

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Creativity and Value Will Win the Cryptocurrency Exchange Wars - newsBTC

In 2017, the ICO bubble officially popped. Now, a similar situation is playing out with many cryptocurrency exchanges going bankrupt. Could exchange bankruptcies be the ICO bubble of 2019?

If 2017 was the year of the failed ICO, then 2019 may be the year of exchange bankruptcies and mismanagement.

By any standards, this year has solidified the exchange leaders of the cryptocurrency market. Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, and others like them dominate trading. As a result, smaller competitors are being stamped out. The consequence has been a consolidation of market share by major exchangesand the bankruptcies of countless smaller ones.

The most immediate exchange bankruptcy that comes to mind when discussing 2019 is QuadrigaCX. Canadas largest exchange found itself insolvent due to gross negligence due to its now-deceased CEO being the sole owner of the cold wallet keys. QuadrigaCX, of course, is not an example of a clear-cut bankruptcy case,but it set the tone for the year.

Other cases this year, however, were far clearer. CoinExchange.io, for example, found itself unable to survive the crypto winter and it had to shut its doors. As BeInCrypto reported, the exchange effectively had no funds to continue its operations. A similar story happened with CobinHood, which filed for bankruptcy 6 months ago under dubious circumstances.Then, we also had one of the leading Polish cryptocurrency exchanges, BitMarket, also shut its doors due to having no revenue.

Even larger, institutionally-backed exchanges have been struggling to pick up significant trading volume. A week ago, BeInCrypto reported that the Nasdaq-backed DX.Exchange would also be shutting down. The claimed reason was due to financial hardships.

Despite the cryptocurrency market slowly exiting the bearish winter which started in 2018, most exchanges are still struggling to remain profitable. Those with a high degree of economies of scale have been able to weather the storm, and in some cases even amass more market sharesmaller exchanges, on the other hand, have been forced to capitulate.

Take for example this shocking statistic: Business Korea found this year that97% of all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country are in serious threat of going bust.This speaks to the grave situation many exchanges are facing right now. It has become so serious that there are even rumors about older, established exchanges like HitBTC potentially being insolvent.

We are currently amidst a major shake-up among exchanges and market players in the cryptocurrency industryand its consequences will be felt as strongly as when the ICO bubble burst in 2017. Big names, like Binance, will further consolidate their power. However, we can expect to see more exchange bankruptcies across the board until bullish hype reenters the market cycle.

Images are courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Cryptocurrency Exchange Bankruptcies Are the Failed ICOs of 2019 - BeInCrypto