The cryptocurrency markets have been struggling for the past several weeks, but no one was prepared for just how much they would fall after European regulators announced their plans to crack down on digital currencies.
European Cryptocurrency Markets Plunge After Regulations
As you may already know, cryptocurrency markets have been in a slump for a while now. This year alone has seen their collective valuation fall from nearly $800 billion to about $250 billion. With bitcoin experiencing its worst first quarter ever.
The SEC postponed a decision on whether or not to approve a proposed bitcoin ETF yesterday. Which resulted in another big drop across the board.
European countries are also seeking more restrictions on cryptocurrencies, which is only contributing to the decline of European cryptocurrency markets.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrency prices plummeted as a result from fears of regulation from European countries.
If you are in the cryptocurrency market, this is not a good thing. Not only did bitcoin fall from $6,400 to $5,800 and Ethereum fell from $230 to $180 but ripple fell from $0.35 to $0.26. Bitcoin cash fell from $600 to 440 and Litecoin fell from 110 to 80.
The markets were already struggling after the Securities and Exchange Commission postponed a decision on whether or not to approve a proposed bitcoin ETF.
The SEC postponed its decision on whether or not to approve a proposed bitcoin ETF. The markets were already struggling as a result. The SEC has been postponing their decision for months now, but the markets were struggling even before that.
The market has fallen off significantly since last year, when bitcoin peaked at $20,000 in December 2018–a price that was nearly three times higher than its highest value ever before (in 2013).
Now, just when markets thought it couldn’t get any worse, news that countries like Germany and France are seeking more restrictions on cryptocurrencies has led to declines across the board.
Now, just when markets thought it couldn’t get any worse, news that countries like Germany and France are seeking more restrictions on cryptocurrencies has led to declines across the board. The German Ministry of Finance is considering treating cryptocurrencies like securities. This means that regulators will be able to monitor trades and exchanges, thus increasing their oversight over crypto trading. In addition, they may create a new law requiring anyone who wants to trade in cryptocurrencies to register with the government first.
In France as well as other European countries such as Italy and Spain, there are proposals for tighter regulation of ICOs (initial coin offerings). These moves have resulted in declines across all major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (down 9 percent), Ethereum (down 15 percent), Ripple (down 22 percent) among others.
Bitcoin has dropped lower than $6,000 for the first time since June this week. Hitting a low of about $5,750 for its worst decline yet. Ethereum fell by nearly 25 percent and Ripple declined by nearly 30 percent during the same time period.
Bitcoin has dropped lower than $6,000 for the first time since June this week. Hitting a low of about $5,750 for its worst decline yet. Ethereum fell by nearly 25 percent and Ripple declined by nearly 30 percent during the same time period.
Bitcoin was trading above $10,000 in January 2018 but has been facing steep declines since then due to increased regulatory scrutiny on cryptocurrencies and an overall bear market that has seen prices fall 65 percent from their all-time highs at the end of 2017.
This decline is still not over
While bitcoin prices may be down, the decline is not over. In fact, there are still many factors that could contribute to further declines in the cryptocurrency market.
The first of these is regulation. The cryptocurrency market has done much better than traditional stock markets in terms of regulation and oversight. This does not mean there will be no government intervention at all. Governments around the world have already started to introduce new regulations on cryptocurrencies such as taxes and licensing requirements for exchanges (which will make it harder for users to use cryptocurrencies). However, it is unlikely that governments will ban crypto transactions outright because they would then lose out on potential tax revenues from them.
Instead, regulatory bodies like Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in America are likely going to increase their scrutiny over crypto activities such as ICOs (initial coin offerings), which means that only legitimate projects with solid business plans will still be able to raise funds through ICOs while scammers who just want quick money would find themselves shut out by regulatory bodies like SEC or Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in England
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market is still in a state of flux,. This doesn’t look like things will get better anytime soon. There are still no clear answers to how these regulations will affect cryptocurrency market prices moving forward, but one thing’s for sure: they’re going to affect them. We’ll keep you updated on all the latest news as it happens!
Additional Resources
For more information go to our Resources Page and click the posts below:
Don’t Forget to Follow us on Social Media below:
Subscribe to YouTube Channel Click Here
