State of the Blockchain: Bitcoin climbs on despite Chinese resistance

In the past week, Chinese regulatory authorities have apparently intensified their pressure on the local blockchain space. At least five of the largest Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges have announced that they are ceasing partial or full operations.

• ViaBTC will join BTCC in ceasing all China-facing trading operations on September 30
• Yunbi ceased all trading activities on September 20
• OKCoin and Huobi will do the same on October 31

In spite of the news, the market has experienced a quick uptick and significant recovery. Is the trend reversing? Are we back on a bullish run? Welcome to State of the Blockchain, where we take a look at what happened in the blockchain scene in the past week.

Market bounces back

Just last week, the total market capitalization fell to a 51-day low of US$97.8 billion. Currently, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies stands at about US$127.9 billion, approximately a 30.7 percent increase over the last seven days.

Similarly, the drop in bitcoin prices last week did not last long, going under US$3,000 in the morning of September 15 but recovering to more than US$3,600 in the evening. It currently stands at roughly US$3,700, according to data from Coinmarketcap.

Ethereum sings a similar tune, as its value recovered from US$200 on September 15 to around US$268 today.

Is there a bull run for bitcoin ahead?

While we aren’t back at the previous all-time high, the recovery is a positive sign, especially because the cryptocurrency space is still highly scrutinized by Chinese authorities. As the market hangs with anticipation of China’s next step, yet more high-profile asset managers have joined Jamie Dimon in speaking out against Bitcoin:

• In an interview, Ray Dalio, the founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, says that cryptocurrency isn’t an effective store of wealth, as it is volatile and highly speculative.
• John Hathaway, the general partner of Tocqueville Asset Management and a gold investor, called cryptocurrencies “garbage.”

Blockchain technology, made famous largely due to the scandals and controversies surrounding the legality and use of bitcoin, has been a divisive subject, to say the least. Technologists, financial experts, and economists are split when it comes to the future of cryptocurrencies and its alarming growth.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding China’s stance on cryptocurrency investment and ICOs—coupled with more bitcoin naysayers in the opposition—one thing seems apparent: Bitcoin’s swift recovery from successive negative news might indicate that it has gotten too big for any individual or incident to derail.

Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, a Washington-based nonprofit research firm focusing on cryptocurrencies, said:

Other top news

ICOs this week

For your weekend reading pleasure