This week, the price action was in the alts. BCH had a strong week off the back of Bitmain’s IPO filing. We saw whipsaw price movements earlier in the week before rallying 18% on Wednesday night and a further 10% on Thursday. It was up 13% for the week overall. XRP held onto its gains after doubling in value last week. It briefly dropped 13% on Monday only to recover most of that the following day. BTC remained stable, trading within a range of only a few hundred dollars. Closing the week flat around the AU$9,250 mark.
One of the main headlines this week was the public release of Bitmain’s financial statements and prospectus for its upcoming IPO. Bitmain, one of the largest mining firms globally, is looking to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. There has been plenty of controversy surrounding the IPO’s timing and Bitmain’s sizable BCH holdings. After the release of the IPO application on Wednesday night, BCH rallied over 23%, almost breaking its three-week high. Some analysts are pointing to Bitmain’s stronger than expected financials as the driver for the rally.
In other news Mike Novogratz, ex-hedge fund billionaire, and founder of Galaxy Digital, the biggest crypto fund on Wall St, has called the bottom of the crypto market on the 12th of September, according to his Bloomberg published and widely adopted Galaxy Crypto Index. So far Mike has been correct, with the index up 15% since then. He is calling for BTC to be $AU10,000-12,000 by year end. Fingers crossed.
In a recent research piece out of the USA, figures of government agencies employing blockchain analytical firms sky rocketed during 2018. US agencies alone spent US$28.8 million over the past 2 years, showing just how lucrative this space is right now. It’s no surprise to see the IRS as the biggest spender on Chainalysis products.
I find that one of the most common crypto myths is that Bitcoin and blockchain assets are untraceable. In IR’s ongoing discussions with regulators and financial institutions, blockchain analysis techniques draw great interest as it becomes apparent that firms like Chainalysis can trace the origins of your Bitcoins, whether they are newly mined, or if they have been used on SilkRoad. We look forward to seeing this technology develop further and aid in transitioning government and financial institutions to the crypto space.
Marcus Ochmann – Head of OTC Trading
