Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies dropped in price over the weekend following events in Asia that had sufficient impact on coin prices. As at the time of this report, BTC was trading at $8.135.
Mt Gox Coins Moved
In Japan, the Mt Gox coins resurfaced and the rumor is that the trustee was moving more coins to exchanges. The news had some effects on the confidence of traders causing prices to plummet. Information available from Bitcoin.info indicated that up to 8000 bitcoins whose source was the hacked exchange was moved.
After Mt Gox was hacked in 2014, a Tokyo court appointed Nobuaki Kobayashi to redistribute coins to creditors. For reasons best known to Mr Kobayash, he has had preference to converting the bitcoins to fiat instead of paying creditors in bitcoin. The Mt Gox coins, whenever they flood the market have had the effect of bringing down Bitcoin price. Investigations revealed that this movement of Mt Gox coins started in 2017.
UpBit Under Investigation
The travails of Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea is another factor that contributed to the weekend price dip. The exchange which is the fourth largest globally was reported to be under investigation for fraud. The report says that investigators were looking into allegations that the company had transferred customers’ funds into an executive account. Moving in, computer hard disks were seized from the company by investigators.
China’s Sudden Interest In Cryptocurrencies
News that came in from China said that the government plans to keep a close eye on decentralized currency. The plan entails publishing a monthly report of 30 cryptocurrency exchanges. This is what the government called New Global Public Chain Assessment. The release added,
“This independent analysis of cryptocurrencies and global public blockchain technology demonstrates the confidence of the Chinese Government in the technology, and will act as a guide.”
The national standard for blockchain technologies and applications being worked on by China would be ready for implementation in 2019. The blockchain standard will include basic standards, business and application standards, process and method standards, credible and interoperable standards, and information security standards. This would be expanded in the future to accommodate more areas of interest.
Localbitcoins Updates Term of Service
The peer-to-peer platform, LocalBitcoins also announce last week of a change in its Term of Service. The Helsinki-based organization said that the update was in compliance with European Union laws. The new ToS would require users to submit IDs. The new rule which takes effect from May 25 affects accounts trading higher volumes, those that were reported hacked and those involved in trade disputes or fraud.
Facebook Cryptocurrency
The reported Facebook interest in cryptocurrency took many by surprise. The company that banned cryptocurrency related ads in January has been reported to be mulling over the introduction of its own token that its users could use in making ad payments. Sources close to the company say that a team to explore the possibility of a Facebook token has been set up. It is headed by David Marcus, former head of Facebook Messenger and ex-president of Paypal, who currently sits on the board of Coinbase.
