The cryptocurrency market started last week beaten, trying to recover from the six-month lows reached the week before. Throughout the week, the trend was positive overall, with cryptos making up many of the losses by Friday. However, over the weekend and this morning, markets were on a downtrend. Bitcoin, which reached as high as $7,800 on Friday, was trading below $7,300 at the time of writing. However, it was nowhere near the $6,500 bottom that it reached last Monday. Over the past week, several international affairs impacted the market and the week ahead may also have some significant events.
This Week’s Highlights
- New Records on Bakkt
- UpBit Gets Hacked
- The Week Ahead
Bakkt Reaches New Records
Bitcoin Futures Platform Bakkt, which is known as the only all-Bitcoin futures contract provider, was able to increase its reach and volume of activity last week, despite the crypto dip. Last Wednesday, the futures exchange reported a new all-time record of 4,443 contracts traded, worth approximately $33 million. This marks a 60% increase from Bakkt’s previous record. In exactly one week, Bakkt will launch its Bitcoin Options contracts, which will give traders another instrument with which to speculate on Bitcoin prices.
The Great Korean Hack
One of the more impactful events of last week was a significant hack reported by Korean crypto exchange UpBit. Lee Seok-woo, the CEO of Doo-myeon who operates UpBit, addressed the hack in a statement posted on the Exchange (Korean). According to UpBit, some 342,000 ETH (approximately $51million) was stolen during the hack. Despite the dangers such a theft presents, such as undermining the community’s sense of security and flooding the market with Ethereum and driving down prices, the thief’s public wallet address is available for all to see, so the community can track where the stolen funds end up.
The Week Ahead
The connection between mainstream markets and the crypto space will once again be tested this week, with an array of market events that will undoubtedly impact traditional markets. The two-day OPEC meeting, which could influence oil prices, starts on Thursday, and on Friday, the Non-Farm Payroll report will be released in the US, and can impact Wall Street. As traditional global exchanges react to these events, the crypto market may respond and also become volatile. However, it is also possible that it will not be affected.
eToro USA LLC; Virtual currencies are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.