There’s always something new going on with cryptocurrency. From the previous crash back to last year’s meteoric rise, if there’s one thing crypto has done for the world it’s that it has kept the newsfeed full.
Crypto Crashes- Again
A brutal fall for cryptocurrency this week, with the market falling by 15% in just 24 hours. For most of this year, the Bitcoin price hovered around $6000, but this week it made a decisive move, although not one that made its investors happy. Bitcoin hit $5500, a new record low for the year that also pushed back its market cap. Since late last year, it’s maintained an amount above $100 billion, but now it’s set back at $96 million. For the cryptocurrency market, that amount is $181 billion.
It hasn’t been a great year for investors who jumped onto the Bitcoin train when it looked so promising. For example, if you had invested when it was at its peak in January of this year, the loss today would have cost you 68% of your investment. Time.com took a look at what exactly that would mean in smaller terms. In other words, if you had bought $1000 worth of Bitcoin earlier this year, that would only be worth $320 right now. If you had invested $10,000, you’d be left with just $3200.
Why the sudden decline? Bitcoin Cash’s hard fork is being cited as the major cause. New government regulations of Bitcoin’s original hard fork mean that holders will own shares in two separate pieces of coin. The original fork that split Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash actually ended up with an even stronger comeback, with a new peak reached not even six months afterwards.
Isle of Man Cryptocurrency Regulations
Located in the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency that is self-governing. Recently, its financial regulator introduced changes to the policies crypto companies must follow when registering.
These new policies include the necessity for at least two directors to be residents of the Isle of Man, as well as the requirement for the entities to be managed and controlled from the island itself. The financial regulator hopes to address cryptocurrency security concerns by adopting these new changes.
Regulations in South Korea
The South Korean government has remained unclear on where the regulations stand in regards to cryptocurrency. Over the past two weeks, in a press release and press conference, the Korean Bar Association has asked the government to take a clear stance on cryptocurrency and issue financial technology regulations.
The Korean Bar Association requires all local lawyers to be members, so it’s an important and diverse organization that does not usually lobby publicly. They hope that through the issuing of solid regulations, users will be protected against money laundering, insider trading, and hacking.
The South Korean won is the third most commonly traded currency for bitcoin. The Korean government is scheduled to announce its stance on ICOs later this month.
Current Standings in Cryptocurrency Prices
At time of writing, there are the values of the top five cryptocurrency list:
Bitcoin
$5553.15
Bitcoin Cash
$418.09
Ethereum
$277.24
