Cryptocurrency Market Analysis [February 16]
Virtual Currency Practical Investment Newsletter February 16
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Ranking of domestic and overseas exchanges I choose
is below↓↓
http://bitcoin-newstart.com/exchange-japan-bitcoin
I have become a contributor to FX攻略, a magazine on FX trading,
to a column on cryptocurrencies.
When you stop by a bookstore,
we hope you will read it.
https://bitcoin-newstart.com/fxkoryaku
【Cryptocurrency Market Analysis】
We summarize the price movements of cryptocurrencies
over the past week as follows
Summary: current price (change from one week ago)
Bitcoin
5,020,000 yen (23%)
Ethereum
18,900 yen (12%)
Ripple 59 yen (36%)
Polkadot 2,950 yen (44%)
Binance Coin 13,700 yen (92%)
Cardano 90 yen (31%)
NEM 39 yen (-%)
Bitcoin rose from last week's 4.6 million yen to surpass 5 million yen, reaching an all-time high.
Bitcoin daily chart
Last week, Elon Musk, who serves as CEO,
Tesla announced purchasing 158 billion yen worth of Bitcoin,
which sent the price up quickly,
and the next day it rose past 5 million yen.
Also on the 12th last week,
- Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), a major US bank,
began custody services for cryptocurrencies
- Mastercard began supporting cryptocurrency payments
- Bitcoin ETF approved in Canada (today)
There were these major news items.
Regarding BNY Mellon, they have previously been designated as a custody recipient for Bitcoin ETFs, but this time they will provide custody services to private entities.
* ETFs have all been denied, so this has not materialized.
This means institutions can store their cryptocurrencies in banks.
As for Mastercard's cryptocurrency payments,
they will begin handling them directly,
which is a first among major payment companies.
*By the way, VISA has partnered with US Circle to
support cryptocurrency payments via the USD-pegged cryptocurrency USDC,
but this was a partnership, not a direct VISA payment itself (as of December 2020).
The news that ETF was approved in Canada is also very
big.
ETFs are securities, so taxation differs from cryptocurrencies, and
ETF purchases do not require directly owning Bitcoin, reducing security risks.
Having an account with a securities company makes it easier for stock investors to buy Bitcoin,
which is a significantly important fundamental factor.
However, globally influential as an ETF is in the United States. The US SEC is currently reviewing Bitcoin ETFs under consideration, and in 2021
people are watching what decision will be made.
If approved, it could become a substantial fundamental factor.
【Ethereum also hits a new all-time high】
Ethereum, after Bitcoin hit 5 million yen, reached an all-time high of 190,000 yen.
Ethereum 30-day chart
Price movements show very solid stability.
Regarding Ethereum,
it is currently undergoing the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade,
and
there is talk that staking Ethereum reduces selling pressure
(because the coins are locked).
Staking Ethereum 2.0
will not allow withdrawals for more than a year, but
there is strong staking demand,
which reflects a sense of anticipation for Ethereum 2.0.
Current staking status
More than 3 million ETH
About 580 billion yen (at current rate)
Also regarding Ethereum,
transaction fees are rising with the current price surge,
and it costs more than 2,000 yen per transfer,
making it difficult for small-amount users.
This is a troublesome situation for small traders.
Regarding reducing Ethereum fees
there is EIP-1559.
This is a proposal to overhaul the fee mechanism on Ethereum's existing network,
aimed at reducing transaction costs.
It is expected to increase Ethereum's value in the long run.
However, if we implement this
the miners' fees for processing transfers would drop significantly,
so miners are opposing it.
With fees so high and making profits,
such changes will only make users more inconvenienced,
so in the future,
even if miners’ fees are reduced,
the platform must be made where users can use it to some extent.
I feel this is necessary.
Anyway, once Ethereum 2.0 starts, miners’
fees will disappear, so perhaps they are
trying to earn money until then...
Such decisions are made collectively,
so it will take some time.
In addition, besides this, projects like Avalanche
that use Ethereum's platform while making it easy to use
are increasing. DeFi and similar factors
are contributing to Ethereum's price momentum.
【Miami has entered the Bitcoin arena】
The state of Florida, Miami, in the United States, has expressed participation in Bitcoin.
The contents include
- Options to receive salaries in Bitcoin
- Investing Bitcoin as an asset by the state treasury
- Using it for tax payments
and has already received approval from the legislature.
That is typical of America. In Japan, if this were to happen, it would probably be a long time later.
Even famous universities like Harvard have long operated cryptocurrencies as endowments
for a while.
News about this has circulated before.
（Reference）Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.co.jp/news/articles/2021-02-12/QOEEQ6T0AFB601
Regarding Bitcoin,
there is a new positive news every week.
