Bitcoin’s on the move with the Saturday rally kicking in. Are we in for another see-saw or will today’s gains hold…
It was a positive end to what had been a disappointing week for Bitcoin and the cryptomarket on Friday, with Bitcoin gaining 3% on Friday to leave Bitcoin down 2.9% from Monday’s open to Friday end of day $10,135.
The losses through the week were amongst the smallest across the majors, with the key move for Bitcoin being the recovery to $10,000 levels, though it wasn’t smooth sailing. Bitcoin pulled back from an intraday high $10,405.3 to sub-$10,000 levels late in the day before recovering through to the close.
In spite of the gains, the cryptomarket seems to be treading particularly cautiously, with few of the majors seeing any major rallies in spite of some positive developments in the market.
Some of this will be down to ongoing concerns that there could be a global clampdown on cryptocurrencies should sanctioned nations progress in launching their own cryptocurrencies.
While nations previously with their own cryptocurrencies were not on the radar of the likes of the U.S government, the fact that more and more nations are exploring launching cryptocurrencies begs the question of what kind of oversight there will be in the months and years ahead.
Venezuela is one that has certainly raised eyebrows. With the country already under sanctions, the launch of its own Petro cryptocurrency would be a means of circumventing existing sanctions and oversight, with the anonymity of transactions by-passing existing oversight capabilities.
Other nations can’t be far behind and undoubtedly, the more sanctioned countries that launch, the more likely it will be for a material shift in focus on cryptocurrencies and the freedom that has been enjoyed since the launch of Bitcoin.
How much influence this will have on price remains to be seen, but if the volatility through the early part of this year is anything to go by, it could be quite a painful one.
Interestingly, this could be seen as an opportunity for some of the “true” cryptocurrencies to shake off the label of funding the criminal world by introducing self-regulatory requirements that forces the underworld to move across to the likes of the Petro. How the majors manage the growing trend will be pivotal in how they will ultimately be impacted. One can only imagine how President Trump would respond should Syria, North Korea and Iran launch their own cryptocurrencies.
For now its food for thought and, while the Venezuelan President has been vocal on next month’s launch of the Petro, there no knowing whether other nations have already launched without bringing it to the attention of the U.S and other nations that may have imposed sanctions.
