This Week in Cryptocurrency: February 22, 2019

• Choo Choo!

Choo Choo!

All aboard the train to the moon! This week carried over the momentum from the impressive end-of-the-week rally last Friday. The total cryptocurrency market cap grew steadily from $120.5B to $135B throughout the seven days – about a 12 percent gain.

Almost every altcoin was in the green this week with several hitting double-digit growth. EOS (38.68%), Maker (24.36%), and Vechain (24.51%) were some of the best performers. Looking at our top three:

Bitcoin showed out with a 10.04% rise on the week, touching the $4,000 mark.

Ethereum led the pack, gaining 20.84% to get back around $150.

XRP, although it had the least growth, still rose a respectable 6.60%. The price currently sits around $0.32.  

Bitconnnnnnect Part Two: FBI Boogaloo: Just when you thought all news of Bitconnect was finally dead and buried, the Ponzi scheme is making headlines once again. This time, at least, it’s on a more positive note.

The FBI released on statement on Wednesday, “seeking potential victims in [their] Bitconnect investigation.” The bureau remained vague on what information they’re looking for but are encouraging any Bitconnect investors to fill out a questionnaire about the matter. The questions include:

• “Where did you first hear about Bitconnect?” Watch out, Trevon James.
• “How much money did you invest in Bitconnect?”
• “Who referred you to Bitconnect (if applicable)?” Again, watch out, Trevon James.

As you can tell, there seems to be a theme in what the FBI is in inquiring about. So, keep your eye out for Bitconnnnnnnnect Part Three: The Bitconnect Gang Reunion.

Bitcoin in Media

Musk’s Take: In a recent podcast with Ark Invest, Elon Musk (Paypal, SpaceX, Tesla, etc.) carved out some time to talk cryptocurrency with the broadcast’s two hosts. Overall, he had positive things to say. He notes, “Paper money is going away. And crypto is a far better way to transfer values than a piece of paper.” No argument here.

Google’s Addition: Rejoice, all iPhone users. You can now include the classic Bitcoin ₿ in your texts. This week Google rolled out an update to their iOS keyboard that includes the crypto symbol as a currency option.

Samsung’s Release: At a product event this week, Samsung introduced several new offerings include a foldable smartphone/tablet, an airpods competitor, and a new line of smartphones. Most applicable to us, however, was news that the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Fold would have native support for a blockchain wallet in Knox, the phone’s private key storage feature.

What Is an ICO? | An Explanation of Initial Coin Offerings: In 2017, ICOs were hot hot hot. Learn how they work and where they might be heading next.

Is Boss Crypto Legit? A Review on the Cryptocurrency Trading Course: We try out Boss Crypto, examining its pros and cons, so you can know if its right for you before you make a purchase.

The Role of Blockchain in Capital Markets: Blockchain is entering capital markets, and it’s staying whether or not banks want it to.

Blockchain for Europe Is Unifying the Industry’s Voices: We talked with the team working to give blockchain companies a unified voice among European regulators.

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The Growing World of Cryptocurrency Law: What You Need to Know: If you thought regular law was complex, just wait until you learn about crypto law.

How Cryptocurrency Could Liberate Content Creators: Slowly but surely it looks as content platforms are giving creators the boot. Here’s how crypto can help them fight back.

Crypto AI: When Machine Learning Meets New Finance: Cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. You can’t get much more buzzword-y than that.

Litecoin’s Mission to Become the Perfect Form of Money: The silver to Bitcoin’s gold has an impressive new direction for 2019-onwards.

From Argentina to Paraguay – Bitcoin > SWIFT: This past week, an export of fumigation and pest controls made it from Argentina through customs in Paraguay. On its own, this task isn’t much of an accomplishment. However, instead of making payment through the traditional SWIFT payment, the countries settled the deal with bitcoin – a first for both nations.

The deal was processed through Bitex, a blockchain financial services company in Latin America that facilitates bitcoin payments. Although the size of the export was relatively small (just $7,100), it demonstrates a clear move away from the legacy systems toward the blockchain future.

No, You First: According to The Korea Herald, South Korean institutions are waiting for the United States’ to make cryptocurrency regulatory moves before taking any action of their own. The Korean publication spoke with an anonymous official from Korea Exchange (KRX), the only securities exchange operator in the country, about the matter.

Regarding a bitcoin ETF, the official states, “The US has been the front-runner on the cryptocurrency market and related derivatives…which is why we are observing the progress and response of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision on bitcoin ETFs.” With an initial U.S. decision around the corner (April 5), a bitcoin ETF approval could be the first domino in a series of decisions around the world.