Bitcoin remains buoyant and is now approaching $11k for the third time despite repeated waves of uncertainty crashing over the crypto market.
Last Thursday, US regulators filed charges against the founders of crypto exchange BitMEX, who stand accused of failing to prevent money laundering.
Adding to the uncertainty, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin dropped another bombshell, claiming in a developer thread that the blockchain is currently “nearly unusable” for many types of apps, and that scaling solutions won’t be ready for several years.
These events conspired against the market, sending Bitcoin on a brief detour to $10,300, before it bounced on Friday as Trump tested positive for Covid-19 following a fiery debate with presidential candidate Joe Biden.
This week’s highlights
- eToro launches staking for Cardano and Tron
- BNB gains from BitMEX’s loss
- Zcash surges on shielded transaction adoption
eToro launches staking services
eToro has launched a staking service for Cardano and Tron, becoming one of the first exchanges to support the staking of Cardano. This allows holders of supporting cryptocurrencies to earn as they hodl, without any of the hassle and complication of staking individually.
To get rewarded, users can simply buy and hold Cardano and Tron on eToro. They will then automatically receive more of the crypto asset each month, along with an email detailing the aggregated monthly yield and total reward given.
Learn more about staking Cardano and Tron.
BNB gains from BitMEX’s loss
Traders have fled the BitMEX exchange as the founders face charges of wrong-doing from U.S. authorities.
Yet while BitMEX is under scrutiny, Binance Coin (BNB) is feeling the benefit. The native token of the Binance Chain has increased more than 8% over the past week, and is now rapidly approaching $30. This rally puts the coin back in the top five cryptocurrencies as measured by market cap.
Zcash surges on adoption of shielded transactions
Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) has made double-digit gains this week, as its signature shielded transactions feature garners increased adoption.
Shielded transactions grant selective privacy to senders and recipients, but the feature is not supported by the majority of exchanges due to concerns over regulatory compliance.
Since the Gemini exchange enabled shielded transactions last week, Zcash has seen a surge of transactions protected by the shielding technology. September saw a new record of 18,716 fully shielded transactions, representing 11% of all Zcash transactions.
The week ahead
As DeFi mania fades and the US election comes into focus, we could see Bitcoin take center stage over the next few weeks.
The biggest factor influencing both cryptocurrency and global markets is likely to be President Donald Trump’s illness, which is now threatening to impact the presidential election. Even with a high rate of survival, the uncertainty around Trump’s illness could still create volatility.
Nevertheless, with a new record of 70 days above $10,000, Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of turmoil bodes well for its ability to weather the coming storm.
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