Latest news about Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies. Your daily crypto news habit.
Bitcoinâs two month low highlights negative sentiments towards cryptocurrencies from financial institutions and governments.
2018 has been particularly cumbersome for the cryptocurrency markets, as Bitcoin and its altcoin brethren have endured a bashing. The preeminent cryptocurrency has hit a two month low sitting around $8,800 according to Coinmarketcap data at the time of writing.
There are a plethora of reasons why the market has been trampled in the first month of the new year. Much of this has been due to uncertainty over regulatory moves by governments around the world, in reaction to what was a revolutionary year for the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
A couple of weeks of serious uncertainty in South Korea, a tightening of the regulatory belt in massive economies like China and India, and some harsh commentary coming from financial heads and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos have led to a sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets.
The overall market capitalization has dipped to $415 bln, with Bitcoinâs market dominance sitting at around 35 percent. Its price drop has been mimicked by almost every altcoin in the top 50, all in all, summing up the current mood in the space.
However, its not all doom and gloom as industry experts, those cryptocurrency gurus whoâve been around since it all started, have seized the moment to highlight vital characteristics that led to cryptocurrencies being adopted around the world.
Casting aside fear, uncertainty and doubt, core members of the community believe the very qualities that underpin the revolutionary aspects of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will inevitably be their saving grace from market manipulation and governmental crackdowns.
Shremâs take
Bitcoin Foundation founder Charlie Shrem posted some insightful comments on Twitter this week, as Bitcoin continued itâs slide to recent lows.
In an eight-part series of Tweets, Shrem unpacked the prevailing sentiment towards cryptocurrencies by banks and government institutions.
Starting off, he said that âBitcoin and other privacy-focused and decentralized cryptocurrencies are the biggest innovation of my lifetime. They literally take the power and control of money out of the hands of government and into the hands of people that use it.â
He hit out at recent ICOs that have created âa dilution of our beautiful technologyâ calling âpermissioned Blockchainsâ and âdigital ledger technologyâ glorified âgoogle spreadsheets.â He also said anything that claims to be Blockchain technology but is controlled by a single entity is not Blockchain.
Following that, he explained why this âliberatingâ technology will be targeted and undermined by established institutions.
âOf course governments are going to do the same. What did you think? They would roll over while we built our alternative financial system and people started using it? Governments don't like competition.â
The World Economic Forum in Davos also provided a glimpse of the future, as more governments are likely to follow in the footsteps of Russia and Venezuela, that are issuing state-owned virtual currencies.
Shrem also cautioned against this move, saying we will âsee a systemic push for regulated and controlled Blockchains by âDLTâ companies, banking consortiums and governments. THESE ARE NOT CRYPTOCURRENCIES. Do not be fooled!â
Check out his full post:
1/ #Bitcoin and other privacy focused and decentralized crypto currencies are the biggest innovation of my lifetime. They literally take the power and control of money out of the hands of government and into the hands of people that use it.
â Charlie Shrem (@CharlieShrem) February 1, 2018
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.