Talking Points
- Bitcoin takes out predicted highs with ease and continues to forge ahead.
- Altcoin NEO enters the top 5 with a weekly 180% rise.
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Bitcoin (BTC) Continues to Make Record Highs with Asia in the Driving Seat
The largest digital cryptocurrency by size, Bitcoin (BTC), continues to make daily record highs as Asian investors drive the price ever higher. The currency has also benefitted from a smooth ‘hard fork’ at the beginning of the month, increasing scaling and transaction times. According to one exchange, 46% of Sunday’s BTC trade was transacted in Japanese Yen while South Korea and China each accounted for around 12% of volume.
The latest rally has also been aided by a global risk-off move after tensions flared up between the US and North Korea, with traditional safe-haven assets like gold, the Swiss Franc and the Japanese Yen all in demand. Despite a mild risk-on move in early European trade, the geo-political background is still volatile and may change at any moment. Some investors are now looking at the cryptocurrency market as a new safe haven, despite its inherent volatility. Others however see the digital currency marketplace opening up and maturing with the underlying blockchain technology finding increased commercial favor.
Chart: Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Daily/3 Hour Timeframes– August 14, 2017
Chart by IG
Bitcoin now accounts for 49% of the total crypotcurrency market capitalization which is currently running at around $137.5 billion, another all-time high. And while Bitcoin may grab the majority of the headlines, other altcoins are making serious gains at the same time. One of the best performers over the last week has been NEO (NEO) China’s first ever open-source blockchain. Formerly known as Antshares, NEO has jumped from around $18 to a current level of $51 in the last week, and now is the fifth most valuable digital token with a market cap of just over $2.5 billion.
Market Moves/Top 10 Capitalizations – August 14, 2017
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--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst.
To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com
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