A recent journal article from the Journal of Monetary Economics has concluded that “a single actor likely drove the USD/BTC exchange rate from USD 150 to USD 1,000 in 2 months.” Image from Tom Stepanov.
Chinese Government Now Aiming to Ban Centralized Cryptocurrency Trading
A senior official in the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is campaigning for the ban of centralized cryptocurrency trading. According to Reuters, an internal memo from a government meeting shows that PBOC Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng claimed that the Chinese government would continue to apply pressure to the virtual currency trade to “prevent the build up of risks in that market.”
New Tax Law Closes Many Loopholes for U.S. Cryptocurrency Investors and Owners
Section 1031 of the new U.S. tax code changes how the U.S. government taxes “like-kind exchanges,” which affects cryptocurrency investors. According to the Motley Fool, cryptocurrency investors who sell a digital coin or token to buy another on or after January 1, 2018 will have to report the sale of the original coin or token as a capital gain or loss on their federal tax returns. In addition, any transaction for a service involving cryptocurrencies (not just exchanging for another cryptocurrency) technically requires payment of a capital-gains tax.
Researchers Conclude Single Actor’s Fraudulent Activity on Mt. Gox Increased Bitcoin Price from USD 150 to USD 1,000
A recent journal article from the Journal of Monetary Economics has concluded that “a single actor likely drove the USD/BTC exchange rate from USD 150 to USD 1,000 in 2 months.” Researchers Neil Gandal, JT Hamrick, Tyler Moore, and Tali Oberman examined suspicious trading activity on the Mt. Gox Bitcoin currency exchange. According to the researchers, the single actor fraudulently acquired 600,000 Bitcoin valued at USD 188 million on Mt. Gox. The exchange rate increased an average of four percent on days when suspicious trades took place, whereas the rate declined slightly on days without the suspicious activity.
80 percent Of All Bitcoin Have Been Mined
80 percent of the 21 million total Bitcoin have been mined. As reported by Inverse.com, cryptocurrency analysts are divided on whether the value of Bitcoin will rise after all Bitcoin are mined. The mathematics needed to properly record blocks is become harder as the amount of Bitcoin in circulation gets closer to 21 million. Consequently, many expect the rate of Bitcoin mining to decrease.
Source: ICO Alert