Eager to trade Bitcoin for free on Robinhood? Take a number and get in line...a very long line.
More than one million people have signed up for “early access” to the brokerage app’s cryptocurrency section in the four days since it said it would offer no-cost trading in digital coins. It could be a long time before they’re able to trade.
Robinhood Financial LLC said last week it plans to let its users buy and sell digital coins without fees starting in February. It’ll roll out the option gradually with the intention of having it available to customers in most states by midyear.
That won’t be easy, as even the biggest exchanges are suffering from slow trading and other issues as demand for crypto has skyrocketed. Complaints about Coinbase Inc., one of the largest crypto exchanges instance, have surged recently.
The wave of registrations signals that consumer interest in the crypto craze isn’t slowing even after Bitcoin tumbled more than 50 percent from its mid-December record as regulators step up scrutiny. Not even one of the biggest financial heists in history dampened enthusiasm.
Robinhood became popular by offering free stock trading. There will be a charge to recoup the costs associated with the crypto transactions, though it’s not clear what that will be.
Stripe Inc., an online credit-card processor, said Tuesday that it would stop taking Bitcoin as a form of payment due to the high fees and long transaction times.
The price of Bitcoin plunged this morning after Britain’s Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer called for new laws and regulations to control cryptocurrency trading.
Yesterday, Theresa May prompted fears of an imminent crypto-crackdown after saying the government should be ‘looking very seriously’ at virtual currencies and their use by criminals. Chancellor Phillip Hammond then explicitly called for regulations to govern the trading of Bitcoin, whilst also praising this potential of the blockchain technology which powers it.
The politicians were speaking from the Swiss town of Davos, where they are attending a gathering of the globalist elite called the World Economic Forum In the early hours of this morning, the price of Bitcoin began a slide which saw it lose about 10 percent of its value as it dropped from a high of about $11,600 to a low of just over $10,500. The price of Ripple, Ethereum and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies also nosedived. However, Britain probably shouldn’t take too much credit for the fall, because the cryptocurrency price drop was probably caused by the closure of a Japanese exchange called Coincheck.
The Bitcoin price slide started in the early hours of Friday morning (Chart: Coindesk) MORE: Elite banker calls on governments to control Bitcoin trading with strict cryptocurrency laws Prime Minister Theresa May, who has already inspired the creation of a cryptocurrency minted in her name, said: ‘I think in areas like cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin we should be looking at these very seriously precisely because of the way they can be used, particularly by criminals. ‘It is something that has been developing. I think it is something that we do need to look at.’ Separately, Hammond said: ‘I am interested in Bitcoin.
The Bank of England, as you know, among the central banks, has been leading on looking at Bitcoin. ‘Look, it is a very interesting, new development. I am – I think we should be cautious about Bitcoin. ‘And possibly, we do need to look at the way we regulate this environment before the amount of outstanding Bitcoin becomes large enough to be systemically important in the global economy.
It’s not there yet, but it could get there soon. What is bitcoin? Play Video Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% PlayMute Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 0:00 Fullscreen ‘What is really important is that in regulating cryptocurrencies, we don’t inadvertently constrain the potential of the technology that underlies it, the blockchain technology, which has a wider and more important application.’
The cryptocurrency markets are famously volatile and tend to react very badly when governments propose new laws. In the past month, there have been two separate ‘bloodbaths’ in which the price of thousands of cryptocurrencies plummeted. Both of these slumps were triggered by news that countries including France, Germany, South Korea were considering introducing new laws to control the trading of digital dosh.
It’s famously difficult to know exactly what’s going on in the market, so it’s not entirely clear whether fears of a Wesminster crypto-clampdown can be entirely blamed for the mini bloodbath which took place early this morning. The collapse was probably driven by the shut down of Coincheck, which abruptly suspended all withdrawals today.
As bitcoin’s price continues to drop, alternatives to the cryptocurrency are also declining.
At the time of publication, all of the top 39 digital currencies by market capitalisation have fallen in value over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Only five of the 100 biggest digital currencies have increased in value over the same period.
South Korea has announced new digital currency regulations, which ban people from trading them anonymously.
Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has fallen by 8.29 per cent.
Ethereum, the second most valuable digital currency, is down 8.87 per cent while Ripple XRP, the third most valuable digital currency, is down 4.87 per cent.
Bitcoin Cash and Cardano, which complete the top five, are down 8.85 per cent and 8.98 per cent, respectively.
Dogecoin, which was originally created as a joke, is down 10.13 per cent.
Syscoin has suffered the biggest decline of the top 100 digital currencies, having fallen by 19.45 per cent.
Bitcoin’s value has dropped repeatedly over the past week, amid fears that the trading of digital currencies was about to be banned in South Korea and China.
The South Korean government has now announced that, from next week, everyone trading digital currencies in the country will have do so using their real names.
The measure, which will help authorities trace digital currency transactions, is designed to prevent bitcoin being used for criminal activities.
South Korea will also prevent foreigners residing outside South Korea who do not have local bank accounts and people younger than 19-years-old from buying or selling bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Once the new system is in place, existing accounts that have already been used for cryptocurrency trading will no longer be valid.
Everyone trading bitcoin in South Korea will now have to identify themselves, in new regulation that endangers one of the cryptocurrencies' most central principles.
The regulation is wide-ranging and threatens one of the core parts of bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies have become popular largely because they allow for entirely anonymous transactions, meaning that people can use them to buy and sell illicit things like drugs or computer viruses without being traced.
But it is not as dramatic as it might have been. Initially, senior government ministers had suggested they might ban trading in bitcoin entirely.
Any regulation is significant in South Korea, however, where bitcoin trading is so popular that citizens have to pay an extra markup to buy them, since there is such interest. The country has helped propel the price of bitcoin to its current heights – and the recent suggestions of a ban helped drive it to one of its most dramatic crashes in recent months.
The new round of regulation has brought another crash, with the price of bitcoin dropping about 10 per cent over the last day.
Further rules might still be yet to come. At the G20 meeting in March, finance ministers are expected to impose new rules, some of which could apply across the world.
South Korea plans to require local banks to launch a real-name system for crypto currency trading that will make the up-to-now anonymous transactions be traceable as the country seeks to curb speculation and criminal activities.
The new requirements are meant to ensure that a crypto currency investor's money comes from a bank account owned by the same individual. Banks will be able to refuse to open accounts with crypto currency exchanges that do not disclose information about suspicious trading. They were told to closely monitor crypto trading that exceeds 10 million won ($9,338) a day or 20 million won ($18,676) per week and also accounts owned by corporations or groups and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
"We expect that crypto currency exchanges that are in danger of being exploited for money laundering will be thrown out of the market," Kim told reporters.
He said the government does not intend to encourage or stimulate crypto trading.
South Korea is home to some of the world's largest crypto currency exchanges and a craze for bitcoin and other crypto currencies has swept the country.
The price of bitcoin fell was down 4 percent at $10,342.96 as of 0740 GMT Tuesday. It gyrated wildly earlier this month, soaring and then sinking on concerns over now South Korea and other governments might handle the boom in crypto currency trading.
Axel Weber says cryptocurrency ‘not an investment we would advise’ while South Korea bans anonymous trading Bitcoin has fallen 12% over 24 hours while the chairman of UBS warned against investing in it and South Korea continued to crack down on cryptocurrencies by banning anonymous trading.
Talking at the Davos world economic forum, UBS Chairman Axel Weber, said that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were speculative, risky and “not an investment we would advise”.
“Retail clients, who don’t fully understand these products, should be protected from going into these products, because if there is a retail client affected in the future, the question will be again who was the bank that sold them these products and then banks will be blamed again for what has happened,” Weber told CNBC.
UBS’s comments echo those recently made by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who said he would never invest in cryptocurrency despite bitcoin’s nearly 2,000% rise in 2017.
Consultancy Ernst & Young also warned Monday that so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs), which offer cryptocurrency tokens to raise funds, were at risk of cybercrime. Of the 372 ICOs analysed, raising a total of $3.7bn, roughly $400m had been stolen by hackers, who were taking up to $1.5m in ICO proceeds per month.
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The warnings of theft from ICOs come as the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, said the agency had seen “disturbing” evidence that investors in ICOs had been counselled that they did not need to comply with federal securities law.
“I have instructed the SEC staff to be on high alert for approaches to ICOs that may be contrary to the spirit of our securities laws and the professional obligations of the US securities bar,” Clayton said.
The statements of governments around the globe suggesting regulation is on the horizon have led to the vast cryptocurrency price fluctuations that have seen bitcoin halve in value since its high of just under $20,000 in December.
Bitcoin trading was down approximately 12% over the last 24 hours, trading at around $10,400 on Tuesday morning on the Bitstamp exchange, following news that South Korea – the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency market – would implement its planned ban on use of anonymous bank accounts in cryptocurrency trading from 30 January.
South Korean Financial Services Commission vice chair Kim Yong-beom said that the new measures will prevent those residing outside South Korea who do not have local bank accounts and minors younger than 19 from buying or selling bitcoins and other digital currencies. The move forms part of the country’s action to curb cryptocurrency trading, including the raiding of local exchanges over money laundering, with the government looking at a potential ban on trading.
A woman walks by a screen showing prices, including bitcoin, top left, in downtown Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP
Local investors remain bullish, however, with one South Korean trader identified only as Ahn telling Reuters that “everyone knew this was coming, as the government already said they will enforce the real-name system before.
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“Rather, I can see this as a chance to go in, not out. I don’t see any reason to take my money out”
Beyond simple trading, the hype in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has also caused concern, as companies seek to take advantage of investor buzz. Firms including camera-maker Kodak, fintech firm LongFin, power firm Digital Power, tobacco company Rich Cigars, tiny US drinks firm Long Island Iced Tea Corp and many other smaller companies have all seen their share price rocketthrough pivots towards cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology.
The SEC said it would begin scrutinising public companies that change their name or business model in a bid to capitalise upon the hype surrounding blockchain technology.
“The SEC is looking closely at the disclosures of public companies that shift their business models to capitalise on the perceived promise of distributed ledger technology and whether the disclosures comply with the securities laws, particularly in the case of an offering,” said Chairman Jay Clayton on Monday.
The yo-yoing in value of bitcoin, ethereum and ripple, among other cryptocurrencies has led economists to warn that the cryptocurrency bubble could be bursting.
“When it will fully burst is anyone’s guess and prices could yet rise again, before they fall further ahead,” Capital Economics warned in a recent research note. “Triggers for the bubble to burst could be a further crackdown by regulators or a major hacking attempt.”
This is just great news. We can all breathe a sigh of relief over here in the UK. Hopefully this is the end of the speculation and USI Tech are the ones to invest in still. Lets stop shouting Ponzi scheme now and give them a chance to put things right.
The bottom fell out of the cryptocurrency markets this week as hundreds of virtual coins experienced huge drops in value. But the price of Bitcoin and all the other major cryptocurrencies are experiencing a rally today, buoying up following a ‘bloodbath‘ which led to dramatic price plunges.
Yesterday afternoon, one Bitcoin was worth about $9,280 (£6,706) – which is a long way from the peak of almost $20,000 (£14,462) it hit at the end of 2017. Now the price of the world’s most famous virtual coin has now rebounded and is sitting at about $11,200 (£8,096), according to Coindesk.
Yesterday, anyone who scrolled through the cryptocurrency price listings on CoinMarketCap was met with a sea of red. Today, the picture is quite different. This graph shows the upwards momentum of Bitcoin (Chart: Coindesk) Ethereum is up to about $1,090 after plunging to $780 yesterday, while Ripple has almost doubled from 90 cents to $1.63. More than 1,000 other cryptocurrencies appear to be following the same upward trajectory.
So is now a good time to buy? Samuel Miranda, a cryptocurrency expert from Coinlist.me, told Metro: ‘The Ripple market is moving sideways at the moment, but it feels very undervalued right now given the recent high of almost $4 – it’s arguably a good time to buy.’ He added: ‘Expect Ethereum to be a consistent riser this year due to more coins adopting the Ethereum blockchain.’ Ripple has been doing extremely well today (Chart:
Coinbase) But before you start popping bottles, we’d advise you to listen to the party-pooping predictions of the experts at the London-based finance firm Capital Economics. Its analysts have slammed claims that cryptocurrencies could replace traditional forms of money as ‘rubbish’ and said more pain is on the way for Bitcoin investors. ‘The bubble is bursting,’ it said in a briefing note. ‘Most people are buying Bitcoin, not because of a belief in its future as a global currency, but because they expect it to rise in value. What is bitcoin? Play Video Loaded: 0% Progress: 0%
PlayMute Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 0:00 Fullscreen ‘Accordingly, it has all the hallmarks of a classic speculative bubble, which we expect to burst. Triggers for the bubble to burst could be a further crackdown by regulators or a major hacking attempt.’ ‘When it will fully burst is anyone’s guess and prices could yet rise again before they fall further ahead.’ The cryptocurrency ‘bloodbath’ was prompted by fears that a global crackdown was on the way. Investors are worried that new rules being separately prepared by Germany, France, South Korea and China could clobber the markets by making the trading of cryptocurrencies difficult or even impossible.
The US securities regulator SEC has raised serious concerns about the securities industry’s plans to use trade cryptocurrency.
SEC director of the division of investment manager, Dalia Blass, wrote a strongly-worded letter to two trade groups representing fund managers, Reuters reports.
He asked them to provide answers to 31 questions about how funds that hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies can provide necessary regulatory legislation.
Mr Blass wrote: “Until the questions identified above can be addressed satisfactorily, we do not believe that it is appropriate for fund sponsors to initiate registration of funds that intend to invest substantially in cryptocurrency and related products, and we have asked sponsors that have registration statements filed for such products to withdraw them.
9.30am Indonesian authorities are probing Bitcoin transactions in Bali after warnings raised
Bitcoin's future in Bali is threatened after Indonesian authorities raised concerns that the holiday island had become a "haven" for Bitcoin purchases.
Undercover police and bank officials found the cryptocurrency being used in scores of businesses last month due its popularity with tourist and expat communities.
The country's central bank banned the use of crptocurrencies as payment with futher investigations now on-going.
Causa Iman Karana, head of Bank Indonesia's representative office in Bali said "We found out from some postings on social media that Bali appeared to have become a haven for bitcoin transactions.
"The next step is we will ban them as mandated by the law. We ask them not to use it anymore. Along with the Directorate of Special Crime Investigation unit, we will enforce the rule that all transactions in Indonesia must use rupiah."
9am: XRP continues price rise opening at 20 percent higher than yesterday
XRP opened at $1.58 (£1.13) this morning and had climbed to $1.63 (£1.17) at 8.14am, surging by 19.14 percent in 24 hours - almost three times as much as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Ripple has shot up by almost 78 percent since its collapse on Tuesday, making a remarkable recovery.
I think everyone is a little spooked by the total drops in all crypto currency but this was a real kick in the teeth for anyone invested in Bitconnect. I'm invested in USI Tech and I must admit I'm a little nervous at the minute. The US and Canada stuff is not good, just hope it doesn't do the same over here in the UK.
Ah man don't you just love it when this happens. Crypto is a total wave and we've got to ride it up and down. Great explanation on this video. And yes, this is a great time to buy. Comon, let me know some of your thoughts.
Cboe bitcoin futures fell 20 percent, triggering a temporary trading halt, while the price of bitcoin fell below $11,000 for the first time since early December, according to CoinDesk data.
South Korea Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said that "the shutdown of virtual currency exchanges is still one of the options" the government has.
China also reportedly plans to block domestic access to Chinese and offshore cryptocurrency platforms that allow centralized trading.
Bitcoin plunged to a six-week low Tuesday after comments from South Korea's finance minister renewed worries about a crackdown in one of the largest markets for digital currency trading.
The Cboe and CME bitcoin futures contracts expiring later this month both dropped, with the Cboe contract falling 20 percent to around $11,010 and the CME contract off nearly 20 percent around $11,160 as of 4:01 p.m., ET. Trading in the Cboe bitcoin futures contract was briefly halted in accordance with price volatility rules.
South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a radio program interview that "the shutdown of virtual currency exchanges is still one of the options" the government has, according to an English-language report Tuesday from South Korea's Yonhap News.
Last week, it emerged that South Korea was reportedly moving to rein in speculative cryptocurrency trading with a potential bill to ban cryptocurrency trading. The country's government has since toned down its stance, and on Monday said it would only make a decision on how to move forward after "sufficient consultation and coordination of opinions."
Bitcoin dropped more than 19 percent to a low of $10,969.15 on Tuesday, its lowest since early December, according to CoinDesk. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex. As of 4:04 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading more than 18.5 percent lower around $11,048, according to CoinDesk.
Trading in South Korean won accounted for about 3.5 percent of bitcoin trading volume, according to CryptoCompare. U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading had the largest share at nearly 42 percent, the website showed.
Bitcoin 3-month performance
Source: CoinDesk
Other major digital currencies including ethereum and ripple also fell significantly. According to CoinMarketCap data, ethereum dropped 22 percent to $1,007, while ripple fell 30 percent to $1.17.
Investors also monitored reports of an escalated crackdown on the cryptocurrency market in China.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that authorities in China were planning to block domestic access to Chinese and offshore cryptocurrency platforms that allow centralized trading. Regulators will also target people and companies that provide market-making, settlement and clearing services for centralized trading, the publication said, citing unnamed sources.
And on Tuesday, a Chinese central bank official reportedly said that authorities should ban the centralized trading of digital currencies, adding weight to concerns of further suppression of the country's cryptocurrency market.
'Dip is not wholly unexpected'
Iqbal Gandham, U.K. managing director at eToro, said in an emailed comment: "The market is correcting off the back of news that China is moving to crack down on cryptocurrency trading. Chinese investors are likely spooked having heard the news and the market is on edge as a result."
"But we don't expect to see a major sell-off. Bitcoin in particular has gone through this cycle before ... Moreover, it you look at the last three years, January is typically the low point for cryptocurrencies. So this dip is not wholly unexpected," he added.
The digital asset soared to a record high of $19,343 last month, but has since been on a gradual decline. Futures contracts for bitcoin were introduced for the first time last month, with huge derivatives operators CME and the Cboe letting investors bet on price movements in the volatile asset for the first time.
"The pullback seems to be coming from a lack of buyers in Asia," Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, told CNBC in an email.
"Japan and South Korea usually dominate this market but over the last few days, the volumes have been dropping steadily. This morning the combined volumes from these two countries dropped below 30 percent."
He added: "The Koreans and Japanese are used to paying a premium of 20 percent or more per coin. It seems they're getting wise and waiting for the market to even out before buying in again."
CoinMarketCap recently removed South Korean exchanges from its price calculations due the "extreme divergence" in prices compared to the rest of the world.
"The reports are certainly not helping but in my assessment, the Asian market is simply tired of paying the premium," eToro's Greenspan said.
Charles Hayter, CEO of Crypto Compare, said that investors were likely profit-taking as they prepared for risks ahead.
"It seems like it is uncertainty spooking the markets to a degree with regulations unclear. Korea and Asia in general has been a strong support for the cryptocurrency markets adding users and demand with prices often trading at a premium," he said.
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